Kota's Story
by Kotawings
Summary: The prequel for Has It Come To This. This story explores Kota's backstory and how she came to know her friends that later became the rebels. Rated T for violence, minor swear words and some romantic stuff.
1. Birth

A/N: Well, here we go! The prequel. Looks like it's time for Kota to take center stage once again, I mean, this IS her life story…

I think I'm going to enjoy writing this, lots of character building! It'll also be fun to write from Kota's POV again… She's one of my favorite OCs. Enjoy!

~!#$%^&*

Kota's POV

An electric shock brought me to life.

A faulty electric shock.

Not that I knew that at that point in time.

I immediately stood upright, awaiting orders.

_Awaiting orders?_ I thought to myself. _From who? From what? Who am I?_

I was incredibly confused. What was going on? Where was my mom?

_You have no family, Irkens do not love._

That's what my brain told me, or, at least, my brain in my PAK. I turned around to look at the pink and grey thing attached to my back like a parasite. Then, a voice sounded from seemingly nowhere.

"Welcome to life, Irken child. Report for duty."

Without hesitation, I walked through a door that appeared in the wall in front of me.

_Good, you already know how to obey orders._

My stupid PAK was talking to me again. I really didn't want to listen to it.

I half walked, half stumbled into the room I would be residing in for the next year. Here, I would learn everything about our great civilization, and how we brutally destroyed everything that we did not control.

I looked around the spacious room. All the smeets had their own computer to be hooked up to. Once hooked up, we would go all day learning. We would only have a break for lunch, then it was back to learning. As soon as the sun went down above ground, we could sleep. But then we went back to learning the next day.

I was activated at night, so I walked into a room filled with sleeping smeets.

Well, all were sleeping but one.

She waved to me, giving me a bright smile. I walked over to her, careful to be quiet.

"Hi!" she whispered. "I'm Tak. What's your name?"

I drew a blank.

"Didn't you name yourself yet?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"Well, go ahead! Think of a name to call yourself!"

I wished that we were all given names. How unfair was it that smeets had to come up with their own names?

I thought. It's not easy trying to come up with a word that everyone would identify you with for your entire life. But I finally decided.

"Kota," I squeaked. "My name is Kota."

"That's a nice name," Tak said happily.

I smiled, happy with my new identity.

"Well, I guess we should go to sleep, otherwise we won't make it through the day tomorrow!"

Tak walked over to an empty bed I assumed was hers. The room, sensing another smeet, had another bed pop up from the floor, right next to Tak's.

"Well, goodnight!" Tak said, snuggling under the covers.

I climbed carefully into my bed, feeling soft sheets for the first time. I snuggled down and drifted off to sleep.

~!#$%^&

The next day was crazy for me.

Let me just say this, it's not fun to be hooked up to a computer all day, having information thrown at you.

"Welcome to the wonderful Irken empire!" the computer said in a syrupy sweet voice. "For the next year, you will learn about our proud history and how to act around others!"

_Enough already._ I thought.

"First off, we sense that you have already come up with a name for yourself! Good for you, Kota!"

I felt my eyes grow wide. How did the computer know? And why was it referring to itself as "we"?

A picture of a tall Irken filled the screen.

"This is Tallest Miyuki, our great leader. You must do as she says, no matter what," the computer said, sounding much more serious. "If you disobey orders, you will be de-activated."

I paled. A death sentence just for disobeying orders?

"Another important thing to note, Irkens are forbidden to love. There are serious consequences for loving."

I was disliking my own species more and more.

~!#$%^&*()

By lunch time, I was feeling shaky. Only four hours of learning and I already realized that we were a bloodthirsty people.

I sat down on the floor next to Tak. Mechanical arms sprouted from the wall, each one handing a different smeet a bottle of formula.

That was us, the genius babies of the Irken empire.

"Have you noticed how many rules there are?" I asked Tak.

"Yeah, there are a lot, aren't there?" She scowled. "I don't like them very much."

"Me neither," I said.

"Well, there isn't anything we can do about it," Tak said with a shrug.

_Maybe not right now, but we won't be little forever._

Tak and I finished eating in silence.

"Alright, children, back to your learning stations!" A robotic voice said.

I groaned inwardly.

Time to learn more about our great empire.

~!#$%^&*(

Over the next few years of learning, I felt myself slowly becoming brainwashed. My PAK didn't help, always telling me how to feel.

Finally, it was our sixth year underground. Time to choose what we wanted to become as adult Irkens.

"What are you going to choose?" Tak asked as we headed to the sorting room.

"I'd like to become a scientist," I said. "But I might like to be an Irken Elite later on."

"Oh," Tak said, looking a little sad. "I want to be an Irken Elite right now. I guess that means we won't be seeing much of each other for awhile."

I frowned. "No, I guess not."

We had arrived.

I turned to Tak and stuck my hand out. She took it, shaking it.

"It's been nice spending time with you," I said with a small smile. "I hope this goodbye isn't forever."

"I hope so, too," Tak said, releasing my hand. Without another word, she turned and walked through the door that lead to the Irken Elite Acadamy preparation school.

I took a deep breath and walked through the door on the opposite side of the room.

~!#$%^&*(

It didn't take very long for me to make a new friend.

The room I entered was big and white, but other than that, it wasn't much different than the other rooms I had been staying in for the past five years.

At the moment, only one other Irken was in the room. He was standing awkwardly in the center of the room.

I waved.

"Oh, oh, hi!" he said, walking over.

"Um, hi?"

"My name is ZIM!" he said, putting plenty of emphasis on his name. "And what might yours be?" he asked.

"Uh, I'm Kota," I said, looking Zim over. He was almost the same height as me.

"Well, it is nice to meet you, Kota," he said with a smile.

I couldn't help but smile as well. Zim was so quirky it was hard not to smile.

And so our life adventure began.

~!#$%^&*(

A/N: I decided to just get the schooling part of their lives out of the way quickly. The good stuff will start next chapter. And yes, for those of you who haven't gone and read some of the scripts and such for the un-finished episodes, Zim was a scientist for a little while.


	2. Roommates

A/N: You're so hypnotizing… Oh, I'm on? Really? Already? Heh heh…

Wow, I don't believe how fast I've been updating… I woulda thought that my acting camp would've worn me out. Although I really should be memorizing my lines right now…

!#$%^&*(

Kota's POV

Zim and I didn't last very long in the science career thanks to a little experiment of his. This experiment wound up killing off not one, but TWO Tallest. So there you have it.

So now, here we were, getting ready to begin training to be Irken Elites.

"Excited?" I asked, glancing at Zim.

He nodded. "I think I'll enjoy this more than being a scientist."

"I agree, we'll see much more action," I said, walking through the doors of the academy.

The place was HUGE. My eyes widened as I took it all in. "Whoa…"

Zim looked as amazed as I was.

"I guess we should check in, huh?" I said, looking around for a room labeled "check in" or something.

Zim nodded.

"Hey, do you guys need help finding anything?"

We turned toward the voice that had spoken.

The Irken who was standing in front of us had an unusually large head and a shorter body; causing him to look almost like a bobble-head.

"Uh, yes, actually," I said, stepping forward. "We need to check in so we can get our schedules and room numbers and stuff. Do you know where we need to go?"

"Sure thing!" the Irken said happily. "Right this way!"

Zim and I followed him through several doors until we were standing in an office. The sign above the door said "Check In."

"Hey, thanks!" I said.

"No problem," he said, walking off.

"What a nice guy," Zim said, headed into the office.

~!#$%^&

After we had gotten settled, Zim and I went exploring.

We memorized the routes we had to take to get to our classes, the food court and our rooms. Unfortunately, that didn't stop us from getting lost again.

"I could have sworn we came from this way…" I murmured.

"This place needs some maps," Zim grumbled.

"Are you guys lost again?"

We turned around to see the large-headed Irken once again. He had a smirk on his face.

"As much as I hate to admit it, yeah, we are," I confessed.

The Irken snickered. "Ah, no worries, I had the same problem when I first got here." He stuck out his hand. "My name's Dink."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kota and this is Zim," I said, shaking Dink's hand and then gesturing to Zim. Zim didn't seem to notice. He was continuing to try and figure out where he was.

"He's kind of oblivious at times," I said, trying not to laugh.

"I can tell," Dink said, smiling. "Now, where don't you tell me where you need to get to this time?"

"We're trying to get back to our rooms, numbers 762 and 763."

"Oh, ok! Follow me."

"Zim! Come on!"

Zim looked up, startled. He still hadn't realized that Dink had showed up to help us.

"You know, my room's only a few doors down from yours," Dink said, looking back to make sure we were still keeping up. "Maybe we could hang out some time."

"That sounds like fun, what do you think, Zim? Zim?"

Zim had zoned out, looking at all the different things that we were passing by. I sighed and Dink chuckled.

"Well, here we are!"

A door with the number 762 was in front of me.

"My room is number 754 if you'd like to drop by later," Dink said, turning. "See ya later!"

"See ya!" I said, waving. I turned to Zim. He stood in front of his door, looking at it curiously.

"Irk to Zim!" I said loudly. Zim shook his head, snapping out of his daze.

"Eh? What happened? Where are we?"

"Zim, we're back at our rooms now…"

"How did this happen?"

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously? You don't remember Dink showing us how to get back here?"

"Nuh uh."

"Figures. Well, I guess it doesn't matter. We're back now. Now, I'm going to go and unpack my stuff, I suggest you do the same."

Zim shrugged and walked into his room, shutting the door behind him.

I shook my head, chuckling to myself. Zim really was a quirky Irken. I twisted the doorknob and walked into my room.

The dorm rooms at the academy were surprisingly spacious. Each room was shared by two Irkens, but could easily fit three or four. They were sparsely furnished, each containing a bathroom, two beds, two small dressers and a wall communicator.

I looked around the room, searching for any sign of my roommate. Seeing nothing, I shrugged and walked over to my bed where I had placed my things earlier. As I began to put some of my clothes away, the door opened.

I glanced over to see a green clad female Irken rolling a suitcase into the room. She was fairly tall and she held herself proudly. She looked elegant. As soon as she saw me she stopped. I waited as she looked me over.

"Hmm," she said, walking further into the room. She held out her hand. "Hello. My name is Mir. How do you do?"

I was slightly taken aback. I wasn't used to such proper introductions. "Hey, my name's Kota." I shook her hand.

"Charmed," Mir said, walking over to her bed.

I wanted to strike up a conversation but I lacked the words that I wanted to say. Mir made me feel small and insignificant. Alright, I _was_ small, but not insignificant.

"So… Looking forward to our first day tomorrow?" I asked hesitantly.

"Of course, I cannot wait to begin training!" Mir said happily.

Before I could ask her another question, there was a loud crashing sound and some squeaking coming from the other side of the wall.

"My Tallest, what has Zim done now?" I asked out loud, headed toward the door.

"Someone you know?" Mir asked casually.

"Unfortunately, yes."

I shoved my way into Zim's room. Once there, I discovered utter chaos. Things were strewn everywhere, the wall communicator was hanging half off of the wall and Zim and an Irken I assumed to be his roommate were standing one of the dressers back upright.

"What happened in here?" I demanded.

Zim spun around. "Oh, nothing," he lied. "Just some, technical difficulties."

The other Irken snorted. "Yeah, because it's hard to put your clothes in a dresser."

"Do not question Zim's methods, Skoodge!" Zim said, turning to his roommate.

"I didn't question them, Zim," Skoodge said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, as long as everything is more or less under control over here, I'll be heading back to my own room," I said reluctantly.

"Yes, go," Skoodge said, not even looking at me. "Zim and I will be fine."

I shrugged and headed back to my room.

~!#$%^&*()_

A/N: Of course something like that would happen to Zim and Skoodge. x3 I've been trying to come up with theme songs for my OCs, and I could use some suggestions, especially for Mir. I have a couple ideas for some of the others but I can't seem to figure out a good song that would suit Mir.


	3. Control Freak

A/N: First up… Invader Jrek, no, Jrek will not be in this story. This is mostly from Kota's POV and she never met Jrek. Secondly, I will be choosing a song to represent each chapter from now on; the same will go for Rebels.

~!#$%^&*()

_So what if you can see,_

_The darkest side of me._

_No one will ever change this animal I have become._

_Help me believe,_

_It's not the real me._

_Somebody help me tame this animal._

_~Three Days Grace: Animal I Have Become_

Kota's POV

Training began promptly at sunrise the next day.

I made sure to wake up early to prepare for the upcoming activities. I'd need food and I'd need to be clean. Of course, Mir grumbled when I woke up before her and wound up waking her up as well.

"What are you doing up? Go back to bed."

"No, I need to be ready."

"Hrmph…"

With those final sounds, Mir placed a pillow over her head and went back to sleep.

I shook my head in amusement. At least I now knew something else about my roommate, she wasn't a morning person.

I walked into the bathroom and cleansed myself with cleansing chalk, brushed my teeth and put on a clean outfit. After I had finished, I headed toward the food court to grab some breakfast.

As I left my room, I heard some ruckus coming from Zim's room.

"What now?" I asked myself.

I warily opened the door; half expecting to see a natural disaster had hit the room. Mostly because something like that would happen to Zim.

What had actually happened was that Zim had run into an end table and had knocked it over. It also turns out that he had been sleep walking. Now he was on the ground rubbing his bruised leg and cursing quietly under his breath.

I snickered.

Zim looked up at me. "Oh, you find Zim's pain funny, do you?"

"A little bit," I said, smiling apologetically. I walked over and helped Zim stand. "You know, you really need to be more careful or you'll wind up breaking something."

He sighed. "I know. Skoodge already mentioned that."

"Speaking of your roommate, where is he anyway?"

"Eh? I, uh, I dunno. He was gone when I woke."

"Guess I'm not the only one who decides to get up early," I said happily.

"I suppose not. Well, now that I am awake, I might as well go and grab some life sustaining matter," Zim said.

"Cool, you can come with me!"

So Zim and I headed down to grab some food before our hectic day began.

~!#$%^&*

My first class that morning taught us about blending in with the natives on different planets. Computer stations lined the walls, ready to be plugged into.

_Great, more computers._

I picked a random computer and sat down, waiting for a tube to come out and plug into my PAK. I closed my eyes as my PAK connected to the computer.

"_Time to learn," _my PAK whispered to me.

I opened my eyes again, dearly wishing that my PAK would shut up. How I hated how it did it's best to control me.

It scared me that it almost always controlled me.

I barely noticed other students enter the room, Skoodge and Mir among them. Zim had a different class first period.

I felt a rush of energy that I had not felt in a very, very long time. The energy that came from controlling myself and not being controlled by my PAK. It rarely happened anymore.

While I was in control I heard my PAK screeching at me.

"_PLUG INTO THE COMPUTER! DO AS YOU'RE TOLD!"_

I did my best to ignore it, to fight against its control. I examined myself. Now that I was free from my PAK's control, I considered rushing out of the room as fast as possible. I didn't want to become like the rest of my bloodthirsty race, I didn't…

"_OBEY YOUR ORDERS!"_

And with a surge of energy, my PAK's memory flooded my brain, convincing me that I was doing the right thing. I was excited! I was training to become an Irken Elite!

I shook my head, confused. Why hadn't I plugged into my computer yet? Without a second thought, I plugged in, ready to learn.

"Welcome, Irken trainee, Kota. Today you will learn about the basics of blending in with the natives of various planets."

A montage of pictures appeared on screen, each showing an Irken blending in with the natives of the planet they were stationed on.

I grew more excited. There were rumors going around that the Tallest were planning something; something that dealt with taking over planets. If the rumors were true, there was a chance that I'd be able to help!

I focused on the computer as the lesson began. My PAK was taking in all the information I would need.

"_You'll be great someday," _My PAK whispered.

~!#$%^&*()_+

After Camouflage 101, I had physical training.

An obstacle course was set up for us outside, ready to test our skills. As I walked out into the sunlight, I saw a familiar face.

"Tak?" I asked.

She spun around. "Kota!"

"It's good to see you again!" I said, walking up and shaking her hand.

"The same goes to you!" Tak said happily. "What happened? I thought you were going to be a scientist!"

"Well, that's a long story…" I said, rubbing the back of my neck uncomfortably.

A whistle blew, indicating that it was time to begin.

Tak and I jogged over to the group that had begun to gather. Looking around, I also spotted Dink, Mir and Zim.

"Alright, recruits!" the teacher yelled. "Time to start! Today we will be using the obstacle course!" We all glanced at the elaborate maze of a course that had been set up. Someone let out a low whistle.

"You will be racing two other Irkens to get to the finish. The two losers have to do pushups, lots and lots of pushups."

Everyone looked at each other nervously.

"First, you must get across the chasm of pain!"

_PAIN?_

"After you accomplish that, you must dodge the pit vipers, OF PAIN!"

Anxious murmurs escaped from several mouths.

"If you make it past the vipers you must climb up the tower, OF…"

"Pain?" Zim asked, snickering slightly.

Nobody laughed at his joke.

Zim paled and shut up.

"As I was saying… Finally, you must race through the alley of madness!"

The teacher pointed at the very end where a completely enclosed space several hundred feet long stood.

I raised my hand. "What exactly is in the alley of madness?"

"It's a secret, you'll just have to see when you get there!"

"But…"

"Now, since you seem so eager to know what's in there, why don't you go first?"

I felt my eyes widen. "Me?" I squeaked.

"You're not scared, are you?" the teacher asked, glaring at me.

"No! Of course not," I said, standing tall.

"Well, then get up there!" the teacher glanced around the group. "Hmm… you two!" he pointed at Dink and another Irken I didn't know. "You'll be racing her! Now, get moving!"

~!#$%^&*()_

A/N: Bleh, I don't like how that chapter turned out. Heh heh, whoever guesses the theme of my play that I did this week wins a cookie! After reading this chapter, it should be pretty evident.


	4. Obstacles of PAIN!

A/N: Guess what? It's time for Q's and A's! That's right, you, my lovely, amazing readers, can ask me questions, about myself, in your comments and I'll answer them! Now, story time!

~!#$%^

_Like a boss!_

_~The Lonely Island_

Kota's POV

I walked up to the start, taking a deep breath.

_It's all good, I can do this! No problem!_

I tugged on the collar of my shirt. What a fun way to start the day.

Dink and the other Irken lined up next to me. Dink gave me a friendly nod before turning to look at the course in front of us.

The chasm of pain stretched out in front of us, daring us to try and cross.

Gulp.

"Get ready, recruits!"

I tensed, ready to go. I wanted to win, and I wanted to win badly. Why? So I didn't have to do push-ups, of course!

"Set…"

My eyes narrowed.

_Whistle blow._

I took off running, Dink and the other recruit were right behind me.

As I came up on the chasm my mind began to race. Would I be able to clear it if I jumped? Probably not. But maybe if I used my PAK legs…

Without hesitation, I opened up my PAK legs and moved them as quickly as I could. Dink and the other recruit both decided to be unoriginal and followed my lead.

Here was the chasm… of PAIN!

I threw myself forward as hard as I possibly could. Time seemed to slow as I soared over the chasm filled with magma. But then…

I landed, hard on the other side. A sense of relief flooded through me as I stood and continued to run toward the finish. I risked a glance back and saw that Dink had made it as well. The other recruit was hanging on the very edge of the chasm. A small part of me wanted to go back and help her… But my PAK urged me on.

I was now coming up on the pit of vipers… of PAIN!

_Alright, Kota. Think, what are you going to do this time?_

Well, my PAK legs would keep me up pretty high. Hopefully out of reach of the vipers.

So the PAK legs it was.

I re-opened the legs and continued forward without fear. I WOULD win this race.

I stepped into the pit, going as quickly as I could I didn't want to stay here for very long. I looked up and saw Dink trying to jump OVER the pit. It didn't work so well.

Dink landed on his back and the vipers were on him within moments. Breaking free of my PAK's control momentarily, I helped Dink up before the vipers could get him.

"Thanks," Dink panted, looking slightly embarrassed.

"No problem!" I said, already running toward the far end of the pit. I threw myself upward, scrambling back out. Dink was right behind me.

Now, onward to the tower… of PAIN!

My PAK legs wouldn't help me this time, they had no way to grip things. I folded them back up and threw myself onto the tower, which was made of metal bars like a jungle gym.

As I climbed I began to notice something. The bars were shifting under me! Every bar I touched fell away just moments later. The only reason I hadn't fallen was because I was climbing so fast! I climbed even faster now that I was aware of this newest obstacle.

I made it to the top and immediately began to climb down the other side. It was much easier because I knew that if I fell I wouldn't have to start over. In fact…

I deployed my PAK legs and leapt from the tower. Now I had covered even more ground and was further ahead of Dink then I had been before.

Now, it was time to face the alley of MADNESS!

I was apprehensive as I rushed in, not knowing what awaited me. But it soon became evident.

I had only taken a few steps into the alley when water began to spray down.

"AH!" I shrieked. I ran as fast as I could, slipping and falling multiple times. Some water had gotten into my eyes and was blinding me.

After I fell the third time I about broke into hysterics. I wasn't even sure if I was headed the right way anymore and the water was searing my skin.

I took a deep breath.

_Ok, Kota. It's just pain. You can deal with it. If you're going to be an Irken Elite, you have to be able to deal with these types of things._

I stood up again, and continued forward. I heard Dink behind me, whimpering in pain. I took the alley one step at a time, careful to avoid the biggest puddles. Finally, I made it out into the sunlight, gasping in relief. Dink came out a few moments later.

Zim, Mir and Tak ran over to congratulate me as Dink started on his pushups.

"Wow! Good job!" Mir said.

"Zim knew you could do it," Zim said happily.

"Yes, nice work," Tak said with a small smile.

I resisted the urge to flop down onto the ground. Then I remembered something. "Hey, what happened to the other girl?" I asked, looking around.

"She had to be rescued," Tak said. "She's over there, doing pushups." Tak pointed a little ways away where the ruby eyed female was unceasingly doing pushups.

"Well, at least she's alright," I said.

"Good job!" The teacher said, coming over and giving me a slap on the back. "Now… You three!" he said, pointing to Zim, Tak and Mir. "You're next!"

"You have _got_ to be joking," Tak said disbelievingly.

"Does it look like I'm laughing?" the teacher said angrily.

"No, sir!" Tak said, apologizing.

"Good! Now go line up! And no walking!"

Zim, Tak and Mir ran over to the start line, grimacing.

"On your marks, get set…"

My three friends tensed, ready to go.

The whistle blew and they were off.

Tak was in the lead with Zim and Mir tied behind her. All three deployed their PAK legs as they neared the chasm.

Tak cleared the chasm with ease, while Mir and Zim cleared it with a little more difficulty. In fact, Zim wound up tripping as he landed and did a face plant.

"Ouch," I mumbled.

Tak and Mir were almost to the pit by the time Zim got back to his feet. He hurried along, not bothering to close his PAK legs.

Mir walked into the pit like I did but Tak tried to leap over it like Dink did. But she managed to do it successfully.

Mir stood still for a moment, gaping as she watched Tak soar over the pit. Then, snapping out of her stupor, she clambered out of the pit and continued on. By now Zim had entered the pit and was busy dodging around the furious vipers.

"Ah! Get BACK you filthy creatures of filth!"

Zim leapt out of the pit and hurried after the two girls.

Tak had just started the climb up the tower of pain, and was scrambling around, trying to knock off as many pipes as possible to slow her rivals' ascent.

Mir was only a few steps behind. She began to climb as far away from Tak as possible so she wouldn't have to worry about the falling debris.

Tak was at the top when Zim began to climb. He was having a hard time finding a path, considering that a good number of pipes were no longer in place.

Mir had reached the top by now, and was gaining ground on Tak. But Tak had remembered what I had done the first time around. Deploying her PAK legs, Tak threw herself off of the tower, from even higher up than I had.

Beside me, Dink gasped.

"Recruit! Get back to your pushups!"

Dink hurriedly returned to his pushups.

Tak had landed and was hurrying to the alley of madness. Mir had just leapt from the tower and Zim had just made it to the top. He was gaining ground as well.

Tak hesitated visibly just before entering the alley. We Irkens did NOT like water.

I watched as Tak took a deep breath and ran into the alley. Mir was right behind her by now. Zim, on the other hand, had just jumped from the tower.

Suddenly, two muffled screams erupted from the alley, making it seem like some horrible place of torture. Which, I guess, it technically was.

Zim had reached the entrance. He hesitated for even longer than Tak had. But in the end he too ran into the horrible water filled place.

A cry of pain was heard just moments later.

I winced at the memory and looked down at my pock-marked skin. Water truly was painful.

I looked to the end of the course, waiting to see who would be the winner. Finally, Tak emerged, panting and smoking from the water. Mir appeared just moments after with Zim right behind her.

Cheering erupted from the onlookers. Tak limped over, a proud look on her face.

"Good job, guys," I said with a smile.

"Now, begin your pushups! Dink! You're done."

Dink stood up, panting.

I barely paid attention as the rest of the class took their turns through the obstacle course. It got boring after awhile, mostly because they all copied what Dink and I had done the first time around.

"Alright! Time for you maggots to go to lunch!" the teacher said after everyone had gone. "Be ready for another challenge tomorrow!"

"I'm ready, as long as it doesn't involve water!" I proclaimed as we walked toward the food court.

"You can say that again!" Dink said.

~~~~~!#$%^&*()_

A/N: I enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading it! Sorry I didn't update sooner, my internet connection hadn't been working. I'll be updating Rebels in a little while here as well. ^^


	5. Big News

A/N: Answers time!

Invader Kat: Hey, Kota, do you like Johnny the Homicidal Maniac?

Answer: Well, I haven't seen very many of the comics, but from what I HAVE seen, I'd have to yes. It's pretty funny. x3

~!#$%^&*

_Baby you're a firework,_

_Come on show them what you're worth_

_Make 'em go ah, ah, ah,_

_As you shoot across the sky._

_Katy Perry: Firework_

Kota's POV

Lunch passed by uneventfully. It probably helped that Zim was once again completely zoned out.

After lunch it was time to learn about some of the other planets in the universe.

Zim and I walked in and sat down. Everyone considered Astronomy to be one of the best classes because it was so much different from everything else. You just had to watch the ceiling and learn. It was almost like you were actually in space.

As soon as everyone was seated, the computer began today's presentation.

"Welcome, Irken recruits. Today we will be learning about some of the many planets in our universe."

The stars on the ceiling suddenly blurred, creating the illusion that we were moving very fast.

"First, we will visit the planet Keah, the home of the tree hugging hippies."

"Really?" I whispered to Zim. "Why on Irk do we need to know about Keah?"

Zim shrugged.

"Keah is one of the lushest planets in the known universe. The natives there are very protective of their jungles and forests, but are easily beaten as they do not like to fight. This is one of the reasons why Keah has been marked for conquest by the Irken armada."

My antennae perked up at that. Conquest?

Others began to murmur and it soon became hard to hear what the computer was saying.

"Did you hear that, Zim? Maybe this means that the rumors are true after all!" I said excitedly. "Maybe we really are training to become, like, spies or something!"

Zim was laughing evilly, considering all the possibilities for conquest.

"BE QUIET!" the computer yelled.

Immediately, the room was silent.

"Thank you, now, if you would like to know more about the plan for universal conquest, please visit the information center AFTER your classes. Continuing on…"

I had a hard time paying attention after that. Universal conquest? Awesome! How great would it be to be a part of it? That would be the best thing ever!

As soon as class let out everyone ran to the information center. Since Zim and I were some of the smallest Irkens there, it was easy for us to dodge in and out of the crowds. Once there, we grabbed two empty computers and plugged in.

"Computer, bring up every article you can find on the plan for universal conquest plans," I instructed.

The computer began to pull up numerous articles, all of them bearing the title "Operation Impending Doom."

I scanned through the top document.

"A plan for universal conquest has just been announced by the Almighty Tallest. Titled 'Operation Impending Doom,' this is our first attempt at taking control of the entire known universe. Here is how everything will work."

"At this very moment, the Tallest are observing the recruits training at the Irken Elite Training Academy on Devastis. They will choose the most worthy and deem them invaders. Once all the positions for invaders have been filled, the conquest will begin."

My squeedilyspooch lurched with excitement. That meant I was being considered to be an invader right now! I continued reading.

"The invaders will each be assigned an enemy planet. Then, each invader will infiltrate and spy on their designated planet, preparing it for conquest by the armada. This will continue for as long as necessary until the entire universe is under Irken control."

I sat back in my chair and looked at Zim. He had finished reading at the same time I had.

"Zim, we have to try our very hardest so we can become invaders!" I said excitedly.

"Indeed!" Zim said, nodding.

"Kota!"

I turned to see Tak running over, her face alight with excitement as well.

"Did you hear about Operation Impending Doom?" she asked.

"Yeah!" I said, unplugging from the computer. "It's exciting!"

"Come, we should be training or something, so we look good!" Tak said, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the exit.

"Zim will come with you!" Zim said, following.

~!#$%^&*(

I collapsed on my bed that night, absolutely exhausted. We had trained non-stop.

"Where have you been, then?" Mir asked, examining her nails.

"Training," I said.

"Oh, so you look like a good recruit material?"

"Yep."

"Interesting. I might do some training myself. Being an invader would be neat."

"It sure would," I said dreamily.

"Well, I am going to bed. I suggest you do the same so you are not too tired to focus tomorrow."

"I was planning on sleeping anyways," I said, getting under the covers.

"Good night," Mir said, flipping off the lights.

But I was already asleep.

~!#$%^&*()

A/N: Meh, this was a short chapter. I'm hacked off because my laptop won't bring up the internet so I had to upload this from my basement.

Anyway…

How many of you are Harry Potter fans? Excited for the new movie? :D I started writing an Invader Zim and Harry Potter crossover. (I think I'm crazy…) So, if you're interested, go check it out! 8D


	6. What We've Trained For

A/N: Alright, the instructions for the OC contest are on my profile! Good luck everyone!

~!#$%^&*(

_If you feel,_

_So empty,_

_So used up, _

_So let down._

_If you feel,_

_So angry,_

_So ripped off,_

_So stepped on._

_Three Days Grace: Riot_

Kota's POV

This was it, the day I had long awaited.

I stepped into the testing chamber, eagerly awaiting my test to become an Irken Elite. And if I did well enough, an invader.

Mir and Skoodge had already been tested and were awaiting their results. Zim and Dink were being tested at the same time I was. Tak would be tested after I was finished.

I took a deep breath, sat down and plugged myself into the computer. A few moments later the written portion of the test appeared.

My eyes narrowed. _Let's do this!_

~!#$%^&

I completed the written part of the test and was awaiting the physical part to begin.

"Irken trainee, Kota. This is the physical part of your Irken Elite test. You have sixty seconds to defeat all of your robotic enemies, good luck.

A timer appeared on the far wall of the chamber. Moments later two dozen battle robots appeared and the timer started.

I had no weapons save for my bare hands and whatever was in the room. Realizing this, I picked up the chair and brandished it like a sword.

"Bring it on!"

I ran toward the nearest robot and swung the chair, taking off one of its arms. Several charged at me, but I was ready for them. I threw the chair sideways so it took two of them out, I then leapt over the last one.

I landed just behind the robot. I swung my legs around and tripped the robot, sending it sprawling into the one armed bot. They laid in a mangled pile on the floor, smoking.

Four down in fifteen seconds. Twenty left.

I deployed my PAK legs and scurried over to a group of five bots. I threw myself at them, splaying my PAK legs out to tackle them all at once. As soon as they were down I bashed their mechanical heads in with the chair.

Fifteen more in thirty seconds. I could do this.

I spun around to face the remaining fifteen robots who were creeping towards me. A smile made its way onto my lips as I set my PAK legs to their laser setting.

"Come at me, bots!"

They seemingly understood at ran at me full out. I fired.

All fifteen fell to the floor, smoldering and charred.

"Physical part complete. Time taken: forty seconds."

I grinned. SCORE!

"Please exit the testing chamber now, your results will be posted within the hour."

I walked toward the door and it opened for me. After I was back outside I began to search for the others.

"Kota! Over here!"

Mir and Dink were standing a little ways away. I walked over.

"Where's Zim?"

"He went to grab a snack, he said he'd be right back," Dink said.

At that very moment all the lights went out.

"Uh, what just happened?" Mir asked.

As an answer to her question, Zim strutted by, eating a Licky Stick. He didn't seem to notice us.

I felt my eyes widen. "Crud!"

"Help! The door's stuck!"

We ran toward the familiar voice. I was really, REALLY hoping it wasn't who I thought it was.

But sure enough, as we reached the source of the voice, Tak was the one who was trapped. She had just started her test.

Dink, Mir and I quickly worked to remove the debris away from the door. Dink used his PAK legs to cut a hole in the door so Tak could climb out. As soon as she was out she began to rant and rave.

"I didn't get to finish my test!" Tak spun to me. "And it's because of your friend, Zim! He knocked the power out just to get a snack! He didn't even try to help me!"

Mir grabbed Tak by the shoulders. "Tak, calm down, we can fix this…"

Tak's antennae stood up. "Yes! I can! I'm going to go and talk to the Control Brain in charge of the testing here on Devastis! I'll see you guys later!"

Tak ran off, leaving Dink, Mir and I wondering what to do now.

"Well, I suppose we should go to the office and check to see if our results are there…" Dink said.

"Yeah, hopefully they were printed before the power went out…" I said. Because if they weren't…

We rushed to the office, dearly hoping that Zim hadn't crushed our dreams along with Tak's.

~!#$%^&*(

"Name?"

"Dink."

"Here you are," the attendant said, handing Dink his paper. "You're lucky, yours was one of the few that printed before the power outage."

My squidilyspooch seized. Dink had finished his test a little while before I had finished mine. Had my results come in?

Mir went up next. After she heard that Dink's results were in she wasn't worried. She had taken her test almost an hour before Dink and I.

I walked up, holding my breath.

"Name?"

"Kota."

The attendant ruffled through some papers before handing one to me.

"Yours was the last one to print."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you!" I grabbed my paper and walked over to Dink and Mir.

"Ready to see our results?" Dink asked.

"Of course!" I cried.

"Ready when you two are!" Mir said excitedly.

"Wait! Zim must get his results as well!"

Zim rushed into the room and went up to the attendant.

"I'm guessing you're Zim?" the attendant asked, looking amused.

"Yes, I AM ZIM!"

"Here you are."

Zim ran over with his results in hand, excitement clear in his eyes. "Let us see how we did!"

I was tempted to chew Zim out for causing the power outage, but that could wait. Right now, I wanted to see how I did!

"Alright everyone, on three. One. Two… Three!"

I flipped my paper over in my hands and brought it to my face. The overall result was at the top.

_Outstanding._

I squealed in joy. I was an Irken Elite! Not very many passed with an outstanding!

"I got an outstanding!" I cried.

"I did as well!" Mir said, tears of happiness forming in her ruby eyes.

"I got an excellent!" Dink exclaimed.

"As did Zim!" Zim said, hopping up and down.

"Well, it's official, we're Irken Elites!" Skoodge said, walking up and waving his paper at us. An "Outstanding" was printed at the top of it.

"Wow, that's weird to think about," I said happily.

"You know what will be even more weird for you to think about?" said a very, very familiar voice.

All of our eyes widened even before we saw the Irken who had spoken.

We turned around slowly and looked up. There, standing in front of us, were the Almighty Tallest.

"What?" Dink squeaked.

The Tallest grinned. Red spoke. "You'd better go and pack your things, because you're coming with us. By this time tomorrow, the whole world will know you as Irken Invaders."

~!#$%^&*(

A/N: Agh, sorry if the chapter got confusing. ^^' I haven't had an awful lot of time to myself lately and I want to get as much done as possible. ESPECIALLY since school is going to start back up in about a month. O_O


	7. The Massive

A/N: It'd be nice if I could get some more entries for my contest! Don't be shy!

~!#$%^&*

_I know you're expecting,_

_Song lyrics here._

_But I got nothing,_

_So just enjoy!_

_Me: Terrible at rhyming._

Kota's POV

We raced to our rooms excitedly, not wanting to keep the Almighty Tallest waiting.

"I can't believe it!" I cried as Mir and I ran into our room and began to pack our things. "Us, INVADERS!"

Mir was grinning. "Yes, it is exciting, isn't it?"

Then I stopped, thinking something. "You know… Tak may not make it."

Mir blinked and then frowned. "It's a shame, Tak is very skilled."

I continued to pack. Well, there was nothing we could do about it now. What had happened, happened. We couldn't change it.

Crashing could be heard next door but I chose to ignore it. Zim could take care of himself, and, truthfully, I was a little mad at him for crushing my friend's hopes and dreams.

I closed my suitcase after everything was tucked nicely inside. "Ready when you are!" I said to Mir.

"Almost done…" Mir was having a little trouble closing her suitcase because she had one too many things inside.

"Here, let me help."

Mir held up a hand to stop me. "No thank you, Kota. I can do this myself." She continued to push and shove on the top of the case. This went on for several minutes before it finally snapped shut. "There!" she said, lifting the bulging luggage from her bed. "Let's go!"

~!#$%^&*

Zim, Mir, Dink, Skoodge and I stood waiting for our departure to Conventia. Several other Irkens joined us, none of which I knew. And then it was finally time to leave.

"Alright everybody, load up!" Tallest Red commanded. "We'll brief you on your mission on the way to Conventia!"

We climbed aboard _The Massive_ and gazed around in awe. I had never dreamed of being on the Tallest's flag ship!

"Whoa," I breathed. It was huge!

"Ditto!" Dink whispered.

"Now!" Tallest Purple began. "Come with us to our conference room. We'll explain everything for you."

We followed obediently.

After walking through several hallways and doors, we entered a grand conference room. There was a long, dark wooden table with chairs to match.

"Sit!" Tallest Red said, gesturing to the carved wooden chairs.

We sat down on either side of the table while Red and Purple took places at the front of the room.

"As I'm sure all of you know," Red began, "You have been chosen to be Invaders, the best of the best."

Several of us cheered.

"You're job is to ready your assigned planet for takeover. It couldn't get any simpler."

Tallest Purple stepped forward now and began to speak. "You will be given some basic equipment, everything you'll need while you're studying your assigned planet. When you have weakened the planet enough, give us a call and we'll be there to finish the job."

We nodded. The plan was pretty simple and straightforward.

"When we arrive on Conventia you will form a semi-circle in front of the audience. Then you will be assigned to your planet. After that, you'll simply pick up your supplies and head out!"

"Any questions?" Red asked.

We shook our heads.

"Great! Now, go and get some rest. We'll be landing in the morning."

As he spoke these words Irken servants filed into the room.

"The servants will show you to your rooms," Purple explained.

Each servant went over to an Invader and stood behind them, waiting for the command to be lead to their rooms.

We all stood, a little awkwardly, and allowed ourselves to be lead through the gigantic ship. We passed many grand things, such as giant chocolate fountains and statues made of gold.

_I could get used to this!_

Finally we reached the dormitory deck. The servant leading me lead me into the first door on the right. He left immediately afterwards without saying a single thing.

Odd.

I looked around the room. The walls were a deep violet and the floor was covered in grey carpet that was as soft as a chick's down. There was one bed, which was made up with dark red sheets. The covers were red as well and were fringed with gold tassels. The pillows were a slightly darker shade of the same red.

There was a nightstand right beside the bed and there was a dresser against the far wall. Several chairs surrounded low coffee table. All of the furniture was made of dark wood.

A grin formed on my lips. For an entire day, I got to be treated like royalty.

I put my suitcase on the floor and opened it. I got out my lavender pajamas and changed into them. Then I hopped into the bed and pulled the covers up high. The sheets felt as if they were made of silk.

My eye lids began to droop, and before long I was plunged into dreamland.

~!#$%^&*

My eyes opened slowly, and for several minutes I just laid there and gazed at the ceiling. After I became more awake, I stretched, hands high over my head.

After I finished stretching, I climbed out of bed and put my normal outfit on. I then left the room hoping to find the snack bar.

To my surprise, the servant who had shown me the room yesterday was standing outside the door, waiting for me.

"Oh, hello again!" I said.

The servant gave me a small smile and said "Good morning! Do you need help finding anything?"

"Actually, yes, I do," I said, a little surprised that I got an answer out of the servant. "Could you show me where to get some food?"

"Of course!" the little Irken squeaked. "Follow me!"

~!#$%^&

The servant lead me through several corridors before we reached the snack bar. Mir and Dink sat at a table together, chatting.

"Thanks!" I said.

"Not a problem! Let me know if you need anything else!" With those last words the servant tottered away to wherever the servants went when they were not needed.

I grabbed some donuts and a Licky Stick before sitting down with my two friends.

"Good morning!" Mir said happily.

Dink nodded a friendly greeting but didn't speak as his mouth was full of bagel.

"Dink, you really should take smaller bites," Mir said, eyeing Dink's over-stuffed mouth with disdain.

Dink just shrugged and went back to chewing.

I picked up one of my donuts and took a bite, savoring the taste.

"Oh look, here comes Zim," Mir said quietly.

Zim walked over and took a seat next to me. "Hey everyone!" he said happily.

I managed a small smile. I was still a little mad at him.

Mir cast Zim an awkward glance and went back to her Licky Stick. Dink waved and continued chewing.

We managed to carry on a slightly awkward conversation for several minutes before silence over took us.

Zim looked at us curiously. "Eh? What's wrong? You don't seem terribly happy today."

I grimaced. "Zim, you caused a power outage that destroyed Tak's chance at becoming an Invader!"

Zim raised a non-existent eyebrow. "Who?"

I face palmed. "My friend? Purple eyes?"

Zim concentrated for several minutes. "I got nothing."

I banged my head on the table. Zim had known Tak for how long? And he suddenly had no idea who she was?

Dink snickered as my head hit the table in frustration. I looked at him with one eye, my face still on the table. "You find this funny?" I asked, not really caring.

Dink nodded, a grin plastered on his face.

I rolled my eyes and sat back up.

"Hello!" called a cheery voice.

Skoodge came and sat down next to us. "How's everyone this morning?"

We responded with various amounts of enthusiasm, mine being the least happy. Skoodge didn't seem to notice.

Skoodge brightened everyone's mood significantly as he told some funny stories. After awhile, the Tallest entered the room and made an announcement.

"Invaders! We will be landing in just a few moments! Get your things and meet us back here so we can lead you to your places!"

I hopped up. "Well, you heard them! Let's go!" Then I ran back to my room to get my suitcase.

~!#$%^&*(

I just saw the last Harry Potter movie! ^^ PURE AWESOMENESS.


	8. The Assigning and SIR units

A/N: Ugh, it's been hard to update lately with all the chaos. School is starting back up in two weeks, I'm training for softball tryouts and trying to learn how to drive… IT'S MADNESS!

Madness?

Me: Oh God…

THIS IS SPARTA!

Me: *Kicked into a bottomless pit*

I've only seen that movie once :3

!~!#$%^&*()

_Whose blood it is don't matter to me,_

_Scatter the ashes of the seven seas._

_That sickness, that feeling inside you,_

_That's weakness, don't let it divide you._

_Keep this, that feeling of pride too,_

_Digging up bones but you bury the truth._

_Hollywood Undead: Glory_

Kota's POV

As we exited the ship we were greeted by thousands of cheering Irkens. My eyes widened as I stared out into what seemed like a sea of green with ruby, purple and dark green spots.

"They're cheering for us!" Dink whispered excitedly.

I wanted to agree, but I had a feeling they were mostly cheering for the Tallest. But there wasn't wrong with dreaming.

We walked down a pathway to a more secluded part of Conventia. The further away we got from _The Massive_, the less crowded it got. Soon enough we were in a conference room. Once there, Red and Purple gave us a quick refresher of the procedures and left us alone to get ready.

"Can you believe it?" Mir asked, putting on a little make up. "We're Invaders!"

I nodded happily. I was so excited I didn't think I'd be able to talk. What planet would I be assigned to? A planet of cannibals? A planet of exploding heads? Well, whatever planet I got, I hoped it would be a challenge.

"I'm mostly excited to get a SIR unit," Dink said. "I've always wanted one. They're constant companions."

I was excited for my SIR unit as well. I wondered what it would look like.

"Alright, everyone!" A short Irken popped his head into the room. "Time for you to take your places!"

I straightened my uniform one last time and made my way toward the door. We stood in a single file line, ready to march onto the stage.

"Go!" the short Irken said.

The line moved forward at a steady pace. We wanted to look impressive, considering we were the best of the best.

The crowd cheered once more as we took our places on stage, which made me re-consider what I had thought earlier. Maybe they _had_ been cheering for us!

A few minutes later, the Almighty Tallest were introduced. They came down from the ceiling as lasers shot through the air and machines puffed smoke.

The Tallest proceeded to inform the crowd about what exactly was going to happen. I was so excited that I didn't pay attention, and I don't think any of the other Invaders did, either.

"Now, let the assigning begin!" Purple shouted.

The crowd cheered.

"Step forward, Invader Dink!" Red called.

Dink tried to keep a serious face as he went up, but it was obvious that he was trying not to smile.

"Dink," Red continued, "You have been assigned to the planet Iru, home of the large headed people."

A picture showed up on a screen showing Dink blending in with the inhabitants of Iru, which looked much like furry, blue monkeys with giant heads. I had a feeling Dink was assigned to Iru because of how large his head was.

Dink, slightly oblivious to the fact that this was teasing him, saluted and ran off stage.

Several other Irkens went up, some happy with their assignments, others not so happy. Then, I heard a familiar name.

"Step forward, invader Mir."

Mir walked calmly up to the Tallests and saluted. But even through her composed façade, I could tell she was bursting at the seams with excitement.

"You have been assigned to the Planet Fafel, home of the murderous cat people."

Mir's picture showed her fending off what looked like giant house cats of various shape and color.

Suddenly, I was a little less excited.

Mir paled, but saluted and walked off stage, looking slightly shakey.

I reminded myself to reassure her after. That's also when I noticed that there were only five of us left, Zim and I included.

"Step forward, Invader Zim."

I gave Zim a quick grin as he walked past me.

"Zim, you have been assigned to Maug, home of the magma people."

Oh no.

Zim paled visibly as his picture came up, showing him surrounded by living heaps of magma.

That was the planet everyone hoped to avoid, no one ever went there. Nobody had honestly thought that Maug would be chosen for invasion, yet it was. And now, Zim was the unlucky Irken to be assigned to it.

Zim saluted, shaking, and ran off stage much quicker than the others.

I was so busy trying to think of ways to help Zim that I almost missed my name when I was called.

Starting, I ran up to the Tallests and saluted.

"Kota, you have been assigned to the planet Keah, home of the hippy tree huggers."

You **HAD **to be kidding me. I had been hoping for a challenge!

I said nothing as my picture came up, showing me strangling a tree hugger. I saluted and walked off stage, fuming.

What a waste of talent! I would be one of the first to complete my mission, but it would be much too easy. Stupid hippies.

I kicked a can in my way, heading toward the equipment hall as we were instructed. I was halfway there when I saw Zim, sitting on a bench head in hands.

"Zim?"

He looked up, attempted a smile and failed terribly.

I sat next to him, trying to figure out what to say. But thankfully, Zim came up with something.

"What planet did you get?"

I hated to tell him, seeing as I probably got the easiest planet and he probably got the hardest.

I cleared my throat. "Keah," I mumbled.

Zim forced a laugh out. "How did **THAT** happen? You would think Keah would have been assigned to someone with no talent or skill whatsoever. Someone who would be more likely to cause more harm than good."

More harm than good. That was it!

"Zim! I have an idea!"

"An idea for what?"

"An idea to get you out of this mess."

"Do tell."

I hesitated. No, now that I thought about it, it was a bad, bad idea. It would be too likely that Zim would be re-encoded and stripped of invader status.

"Never mind, it's much too risky," I said sadly.

"Kota, I'll do just about anything to keep myself away from Maug."

"Are you absolutely sure?" I said, looking at him seriously.

Zim nodded.

I took a deep breath. "Alright then. Here's what we're going to do…"

~!#$%^&*()

Zim and I didn't say a word as we made our way to the equipment hall. We had promised each other that we would never tell ANYONE what we had done. It would be our little secret.

Finally, we reached the SIR station. Zim and I got in line to get our SIRs.

Dink was just getting his SIR. I watched to see what it looked like.

The SIR that was handed to Dink popped open at his touch. Its eyes were a bright yellow.

"Come with me!" Dink instructed the tiny robot.

The SIR unit saluted and followed. Dink walked past us and waved.

After several more Irkens it was Mir's turn. As her SIR unit popped open I caught a glimpse of baby blue eyes. Mir grinned and ordered the SIR to follow her.

As Mir walked past us she whispered to me.

"I'm going to name her… Lila!"

"That's a nice name," I agreed.

Mir walked away, talking to Lila the entire time.

Zim and I stood in line, both of us fidgeting nervously from time to time. The line moved forward quickly, and soon it was Zim's turn to get a SIR. It popped open to reveal cyan colored eyes. It saluted, and its eyes temporarily turned red. "SIR, reporting for duty."

"Come, SIR. It is time for us to get our supplies," Zim said, turning. The SIR unit followed without question.

I knew he was going to start our plan here in a few minutes. I wanted to hurry so that I wasn't in the way when Zim started destroying things.

I walked up and a SIR unit was thrust into my hands by the machine. I set it down and it popped open to reveal that its eyes were lilac in color. It saluted but said nothing.

"SIR! Come with me," I said, motioning.

"Yes, Mistress!" it said in a distinctly female voice.

I smiled down at her. As we walked into the hangar, I found a name for her.

"SIR, from this moment on, your name is Iris. Understood?"

Iris broke into a grin. "Yes, mistress. Thank you!"

~!#$%^&*^%&

A/N: It's almost time for epic destruction! *evil laugh* It makes me sad that Zim completely destroyed Operation Impending Doom 1… It would have been fun to write about Kota taking over the planet of hippies. :P


	9. Destruction is Nice!

A/N: Ugh, we've had almost non-stop thunderstorms for the past couple days. -_- It makes it very hard to get anything done on the computer.

~!#$%^&*()

_Now I'm stuck with this and that'll never change,_

_Always a part of me until the very last day._

_Where to go from here? What road to travel on?_

_I've spent my whole life choosing and I always choose wrong._

_Hollywood Undead: Hear Me Now_

Zim's POV

It was time.

I motioned for my SIR to follow me as I boarded my battle mech. There were several Irkens in there already, ready to help me control it. What they didn't know was that I was planning on attacking my own planet with the dangerous robot. They thought I was just going to load it into my ship.

I sat down at the main controls and started the battle mech up.

"Ready everyone?" I asked.

The Irkens nodded.

I took a deep breath and moved the robot out of the hangar.

"Uh… Sir…" one of the Irkens tried.

"SILENCE!" I cried, still nervous.

He fell silent.

Now… It was time to start shooting things.

Kota's POV

I had just gotten in the air when Zim opened fire. He held absolutely nothing back.

"Man, Zim can do some serious damage," I muttered.

"Mistress? What is going on?" Iris asked.

"Oh nothing important. Let's just get out of here." I cleared the planet's atmosphere and headed towards Keah, so that I wouldn't look suspicious. Of course, I knew that I'd probably be called back long before I got there. But you never knew what would happen.

Zim's POV

After I started destroying things all of my nervousness went away and was replaced with laughter. Maniacal laughter.

"But, sir! We're still on our own planet!"

"SILENCE!" I cried again. "You! Twist those knobs! Twist those knobs! You! Pull some levers, PULL SOME LEVERS!"

The Irkens reluctantly did as they were told and I continued laughing. My SIR looked up at me curiously, his cyan eyes huge.

"Master, what are we doing?"

"That is not of importance," I said.

"Okie dokie," he said, watching the destruction.

A transmission came through.

"Invader Zim! What exactly are you doing?" It was Tallest Red.

I answered by destroying another building.

"Stop immediately!"

I laughed some more.

Kota's POV

Sure enough, I hadn't even been flying for fifteen minutes before I was ordered back to Irk. All Irkens were needed to help repair the destruction that Zim had caused.

"Well, so much for being an Invader," I muttered as I turned my ship around.

"We're not going destroying?" Iris asked sadly.

"No, not this time," I answered.

We flew in silence for several minutes, then a terrible feeling overcame me. For a few moments, I was free from my PAK again.

I gasped, shocked at who I had become.

"Mistress?" Iris asked worriedly.

This wasn't what I had wanted! I had become one of the bloodthirsty creatures I had despised as a smeet.

There was no way I was going to help rebuild the empire. Absolutely not.

_KEEP FLYING! _My PAK shrieked at me. And just like that, I was under control again.

"Mistress? You alright?" Iris asked.

My face crinkled in confusion. What had just happened?

"Yeah, I'm fine, Iris."

"Ok!"

"Now, let's go and clean up Zim's mess," I said a little sadly. I just hoped that Zim would be ok.

Zim's POV

The Tallest disabled my battle mech and captured me. I watched as my SIR unit was shut down and thrown into a recycling barrel, parts flying everywhere. No doubt he'd eventually be given to another invader.

My heart sank as I was lead to a Control Brain chamber. I was going to be re-encoded, and there was nothing that could be done about it. I had known that it was a likely result of my destruction, but I had hoped that it wouldn't happen.

I was thrown on top of a platform in the center of the room while the Tallest took their positions on raised platforms on either side of the room. The Control Brain floated ominously in front of me.

"Invader Zim, for single handedly ruining Operation Impending Doom…"

Time to play dumb.

"Ruined? I blew up more than any other invader!" I stated angrily.

Tallest Red crushed the cup he had been holding. "You, BLEW UP all the other invaders!"

I snorted and waved my hand at him. Although, I _had_ blown up several of them…

The Control Brain continued. "…You will be re-encoded."

Several wires came down from the ceiling and embedded themselves in my PAK. I tried to control my panic.

"No longer an Invader, you will be forever banished to the Irken snacking planet of Foodcourtia."

"Zim needs no vacation!" I said, sounding disgusted.

I watched as the screen next to me went from showing my Invader status to showing my new Food Drone status. The wires retracting back into the ceiling and I was dragged from the room. A few minutes later I was loaded onto a ship headed to Foodcourtia.

I watched out the windows sadly. My entire life had just gone down the toilet.

~!#$%^&*

A/N: Aww, poor Zimmeh… Can you guess who the SIR unit became? If not… I'll give you a hint… His name starts with a G. ;) Next chapter will be longer, and will contain an event I mentioned in Has It Come To This. It involves two female SIR units! :D


	10. The Lila and Iris Incedent

A/N: :D I made an Invader Zim video that I am insanely proud of! I'll post the link to it on my profile for anyone who wants to see it!

Yes… I make videos as well. That's one of the reasons why I haven't been updating as much :P

~!#$%^&*

'_Cause we gonna rock this club,_

_We gonna go all night,_

_We gonna light it up,_

_Like it's dynamite!_

_Taio Cruz: Dynamite_

Kota's POV

Mir and I landed in almost the same spot once we reached Irk.

"What happened?" Mir asked me. I had to pretend that I didn't know a thing.

"I have no clue," I said, making a confused face.

"Hopefully someone will tell us," Mir said. "Lila! Come."

Mir's SIR unit hopped out of their Voot Cruiser and landed next to her mistress.

"Iris!" I called.

Iris jumped out of my Voot Cruiser and walked over to me.

Iris and Lila spotted each other. They looked at each other curiously for a few moments before walking towards each other.

"Lila, meet Iris. Iris, meet Lila," I said, introducing the SIRs to each other.

"Hiya!" Iris said enthusiastically.

"Hello!" Lila said.

As the robots got to know each other, Mir and I surveyed the surrounding city.

"This place got trashed!" I exclaimed, genuinely surprised. I hadn't expected Zim to do so much damage.

"Indeed it did."

Mir and I turned to see Tallests Red and Purple hovering towards us.

"What happened?" Mir asked.

"Zim happened," Red said angrily.

"Zim did this?" I said, doing my best to sound shocked.

The Tallest nodded. "He's been exiled to Foodcourtia," Purple said. "But now we need everyone's help to rebuild this place. You two are willing to help, I'm sure."

Mir and I saluted. "Of course, sirs!" I said immediately.

"Yes, we are more than happy to help!" Mir said.

"Good," Tallest Red said, an approving tone in his voice. "Work crews have already been dispatched. Go and help wherever you feel needed."

The Tallest floated off, no doubt to debrief some of the other invaders.

"Well, this sucks," I said grumpily. So much for destroying things.

"It is quite disappointing," Mir said sadly. "At least we got our own SIRs though!"

"Yeah, that's good… Hey, where did they go?" I cried.

Iris and Lila had disappeared without a trace.

"Lila! Return to your mistress immediately!" Mir shouted.

"Iris! Come back!" I yelled.

They didn't come back.

"Oh, where could they be?" Mir growled angrily.

"I guess we'd better start looking," I sighed. I began to walk around, calling Iris's name every few minutes.

~!#$%^&*

3rd Person

Little did they know, Iris and Lila were already way gone. They had immediately decided that they liked each other and wanted to go do something fun.

"Where are we going?" Lila asked Iris.

"I don't know…" Iris said, looking around at the destroyed city curiously.

"Oh! What's this?" Lila asked. She held up a small explosive device.

Iris shrugged, taking it from her friend and inspecting it. She hit a button that caused it to start beeping.

"It makes noise!" Iris exclaimed.

Lila took it back, looking it over once more. "Maybe we're supposed to play with it?" she asked.

"Maybe we can toss it back and forth!" Iris said. "You go over there, and I'll throw it to you!"

"Ok!" Lila said, running a little ways away. "How's this?"

"Good! Now, I'm gonna throw it to you!" Gathering up all of her strength, Iris threw the explosive, which was now counting down, to Lila. Lila caught it and proceeded to throw it back.

Iris was just about to catch it when it exploded.

"AHHHHHH!" Lila and Iris shrieked. They ran around crazily, trying to get away from the explosion.

After everything had settled down, they walked over and prodded the remains of the explosive.

"It exploded!" Lila said.

Iris nodded, poking the empty shell. "It made a loud noise!"

"Hey!" Lila said, an idea forming in her robotic mind. "Why don't we blow more stuffs up?"

"That's a great idea!" Iris cried. "I like to destroy things!"

Lila and Iris began to giggle loudly as they looked around for more explosives. Their giggling was loud enough for their mistresses to hear them.

"Did you hear that?" Kota asked, looking around.

"I did!" Mir cried. "It came from the direction of the explosion! Come on!"

Kota and Mir ran in the direction of their robot's voices.

"I gots a bunch!" Iris said excitedly. "Now let's go!"

The two SIR units ran down a side street, carrying armfuls of explosives.

"How about we blow up this trash can?" Lila suggested.

"Ok!" Iris said. She activated one of the explosives and tossed it into the trash can. "Let's get out of here! Otherwise we'll get asploded!"

Lila nodded and the two SIR units continued on their way.

"Do you think they came down this way?" Mir asked as she and Kota headed down the same side street.

"I think so, look! There's some footprints!" Kota cried, pointing at a faint trail of robot shaped footprints. "Let's go!"

Unfortunately, they passed by the trashcan right as the explosive went off.

BOOOOOOM!

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Mir and Kota screamed. Kota jumped several feet into the air and Mir leapt backwards right into a wall.

The trashcan was knocked onto its side, the lid blown completely away.

Several blocks away, Iris and Lila heard the commotion.

"That was a big explosion!" Lila said happily.

"Yep yep!" Iris said, grinning. "What should we blow up now?"

"How's about that sign?" Lila said, pointing to a sign shaped like a donut. "We can put the splodey thing inside it!"

"Good idea!" Iris exclaimed. She scaled the wall with ease and placed another explosive inside the donut. "Let's go!"

Iris and Lila ran off once more, just before their mistresses could see them.

"I sure hope Lila and Iris aren't the ones blowing things up!" Kota said, panting.

"Agreed," Mir said. Her breathing still wasn't regular. "Where could those two have gone?"

"Ugh, I don't know… Who woulda thought that two little robots could cause so much trouble?"

The two had stopped directly under the donut sign as they discussed the possible whereabouts of their SIR units.

"Do you hear that beeping?" Kota asked, antennae perking up.

Mir strained to listen. "You know, I think I…

BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Kota and Mir shrieked once again as the sign above them exploded into thousands of pieces. Several pieces hit the two Irkens, causing some cuts and splinters.

"Alright," Kota said, coughing as some dust entered her throat. "We need to find those two."

Mir stood up, shakily. She had fallen again. "Yes, and let's hurry. I do not think I can take much more of this."

~!#$%^&

In the end, it was Dink and Stubs who found the two SIR units.

"Master! There are two SIRs over there! They seem to be exploding things!"

"Hmm?" Dink asked, looking up. He had been repairing a wall. In the distance, he was just able to see Iris and Lila.

"Hey, that one looks like Mir's robot!" Dink exclaimed. He watched in horror as an explosion went off on a nearby lamp post.

"C'mon, Stubs! We need to catch those two!"

"Yes, sir!" Stubs said, saluting.

Dink and Stubs chased the two robots for a little while until they finally caught up.

"Gotcha!" Dink exclaimed as he picked up Lila. Stubs grabbed Iris.

"Hey!" Lila said, sounding offended. "Put us down!"

"I don't think so!" Dink said. "What do you two think you're doing? You're destroying everything!"

"Dink?"

Kota and Mir stumbled up to their friend, looking incredibly shaky and paranoid.

"These two wouldn't happen to belong to you guys, would they?" Dink said, smirking.

Mir and Kota nodded.

"Thank goodness you found them!" Kota said. "We've been following them for hours!"

"Ah, so that's why you guys look so bad," Dink said, smirk turning into a grin.

"Hiya, mistress!" Iris said, waving. "Lila and I was having fun!"

One of Kota's eyes twitched. "Yes… I can tell. Iris, I order you to never, EVER, do that again. Understand?"

Kota took her SIR unit from Stubs while Mir took Lila from Dink.

"Okie dokie!" Iris said, saluting.

"The same goes for you, Lila," Mir said.

"Yes, my mistress!" Lila said, saluting as well.

"Good," Mir said, looking relieved.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to actually help rebuild this place," Kota said.

"You guys can come and help me," Dink said. "I'm the only one working on this part of the city, at the moment."

"That sounds good," Mir said. "Come, Lila. You can help as well. But do ONLY what I tell you to do."

Lila nodded happily.

And so the trio went to go repair their great city, SIR units in tow.

~!#$%^&*

A/N: Alright, that chapter was SO much fun to write. And guess what? Start getting excited, because Jek, Kiu and Huji are gonna be showing up pretty soon!

*excitement*


	11. Three Pilots

A/N: I'm sad… I really, REALLY want to be able to play Portal (no, I have never played it before) but I think the only way I can is if I download it from Steam… Which will take forever with my lousy internet connection! -_-

~!#$%^&*

_Once again, _

_I have no song to put here._

_So… Yeah…_

_Enjoy!_

Kota's POV

It took ages to fix up the city. And when I say ages, I mean over a year. By the time it was finished, I no longer had the drive to be an invader. Something had changed inside of me, and my PAK didn't like it.

_But it is what you trained for!_

That was my PAK's reaction when I declined the Tallest's offer to be placed in Operation Impending Doom 2.

"_Maybe I don't want to be an invader anymore, you ever consider that?"_

The real question was… what was I going to do now? I was more than qualified for just about any job.

"Irk to Kota!" Dink said, waving his hand in front of my face. Stubs was jumping up and down behind him.

"Uh, wha?" I said, sounding very intelligent.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Dink asked.

"Oh, just thinking about what I'm going to do next," I said.

"Hmm, well, if you ask me, I think I'm going to take a break, see the universe." Dink emphasized by using lots of hand movements.

"That sounds like fun," I said encouragingly. "But I think I still want to work."

"Well, what is it you want to do?"

An idea popped into my head as I watched a Voot Cruiser sail through the upper atmosphere, performing complicated tricks.

"I think… I want to be a pilot," I said, warming up to the idea.

"That'd be cool," Dink said.

"Yeah… a pilot…"

~!#$%^&

So now here I was, ready to begin training as a pilot. I wouldn't need much, considering we learned a lot about piloting in invader training, but I'd need to learn how to perform tougher maneuvers.

I was currently standing in line at an airbase, with several other Irken pilots in training. We were waiting for the instructor. I watched, a little bored, as pilots walked by, several casting glances at us. Things got interesting when three of them stopped right in front of us trainees.

"Well well! Lookie what we have here, guys!" One of them stepped forward. He was on the short side and had purple eyes. "New recruits! It should be interesting to see how they do, don't cha think?"

"I'll bet they do great," another stepped forward, and he had all of my attention. His eyes were blue, which was extremely rare for Irkens. He was on the tall side and was quite muscular. I blinked several times, trying to process the feeling inside of my squidilyspooch.

The purple eyed Irken rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Jek. But they're still new recruits, most of them probably won't survive the next few days."

The last pilot stepped forward. He looked pretty average, but his uniform was black and red, an unusual color.

"Don't forget, Kiu, we were recruits only about a year ago."

"So? That means we've got more experience than these guys!"

The other recruits shrank back in embarrassment. Me? I was angry. This punk had absolutely no right to push us around!

"Excuse me?" I said, walking directly up to the purple eyed Irken. "Would you like to say that to my face?"

He started laughing. "Oh, tough chick, eh? And it's a fact! We've got more experience than you?"

"Oh really now?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "Would you be saying the same thing if I mentioned that I was picked to be an invader?"

That stopped him. He stared at me in awe. "Wow, really? Then… why are you here instead of invading?"

"I was picked for Operation Impending Doom 1, not 2," I said, slanting the truth slightly. I didn't want to have to explain that I had lost all my drive to be an invader.

"Alright, you have my respect," he held out his hand. "I'm Kiu."

I shook Kiu's hand. "Kota. And your friends are?"

The other two Irkens stepped up.

"Huji," said the one with the black and red uniform. I shook his hand as well.

Finally, the blue eyed one held out his hand. "I'm Jek," he said as I shook his hand.

I was now incredibly aware that everyone's eyes were on me. Ugh, too much attention. Thankfully, I was saved as the instructor came up to us.

"Jek, Kiu, Huji! You guys aren't harassing the new recruits, are you?" the instructor demanded.

"No, sir!" the three responded at once.

"Good, now get outta here!"

The three guys hurried away, but not before they all glanced at me one last time.

I may have just found some new friends. Not bad for my first day.

~!#$%^&*

Turns out that the first day of training was super easy. But then again, I HAD had some prior experience. Now, time to explore the dorms.

It was laid out much like the Irken Elite training academy, and that made sense. Why change a good layout?

I headed to the food court, hungry after my day of training. I grabbed some food and was about to sit down when I heard someone call my name.

"Hey, Kota!"

I turned to see the three guys I had met that morning.

"Come sit with us!" Kiu motioned me over.

Eh, why not?

I walked over and sat down with the trio. "Hey."

"So, you survive your first day of training?" Kiu asked, sounding slightly sarcastic.

"Oh yeah, it was really easy," I said.

"Well, considering you were picked to be an invader, I'm not surprised," Jek said.

Again, a strange feeling crept into my squidilyspooch. But I had no idea of what it was!

"Was training to be an elite hard?" Huji asked.

I nodded. "Incredibly so."

"So, what made you decide to become a pilot?" Kiu asked.

I shrugged. "I always enjoyed flying. It kinda makes you feel free, ya' know?"

All three nodded.

"That, and you can do some pretty cool stuff with your Voot," Kiu said. "Like, spins and barrel rolls…"

Jek rolled his eyes. "There he goes again, always talking about his tricks."

Huji and I laughed while Kiu shot a glare Jek's way.

Jek just shrugged and smirked. "It's true!"

Kiu stuck his tongue out and went back to eating. Jek shook his head and Huji chuckled quietly.

What an interesting bunch of Irkens.

~!#$%^&*

A/N: :D Well that was fun to write. I must say, it's good to write about Huji again, I miss him. I'm beginning to regret killing him off. And it's nice to have Jek happy. Of course, Kiu is still Kiu.


	12. Sonic Boom

A/N: Eh… I finally got around to reading the script for Roboparents Gone Wild… heh heh… Irkens don't sleep… Whoops. ^^' Oh well. MY IRKENS SLEEP.

~!#$%^&*

_Boy you got my heartbeat running away,_

_Beating like a drum and it's coming your way._

_Can't you hear that,_

_Boom ba boom boom boom ba boom boom,_

_I got that super bass._

_Nicki Minaj: Super Bass_

Kota's POV 

Pilot training passed by quickly. Of course, it helped that my new trio of friends wouldn't stop giving me advice and private lessons.

But now I was done with training, and ready to fight for the armada whenever I was needed. Until then, there was nothing to do but wait.

"Hey, Kota!"

I turned from where I had been cleaning my Voot's windshield. Jek, Kiu and Huji were walking toward me, grinning.

"Wanna go for a little joy ride?" Kiu asked. "You know, just fly around for the heck of it?"

"Sure," I said, throwing my rag into my toolbox. "That sounds like fun!"

"Great!" Kiu said, walking over to his ship. "C'mon, guys, let's get going!"

Jek and Huji jogged to their respective ships and I swung myself into the cockpit of mine.

I strapped myself down, since I assumed we'd be doing all sorts of tricks and stunts. "Everyone ready?" I asked into my microphone.

"Ready."

"Ready!"

"Let's go!"

I stared my cruiser up. The engines hummed to life, and the ship began to hover. My insides churned with excitement.

Then the Voot Cruiser shot up with amazing speed, plunging me into a realm of stars. Jek, Huji and Kiu were right behind me.

"Now, watch this!" Kiu said, his voice crackling through my headset. His ship took off through the dark backdrop that was space. His cruiser started through a series of spins, turning over and over in a dizzying display.

"That is making me sick just by watching!" I said, laughing.

"Kiu, spinning isn't that great a trick," Jek said, a hint of arrogance creeping into his voice. "Let me show you how it's done!"

Jek's Voot shot off now, leaving a light trail behind. Kiu had stopped spinning in order to watch his competition.

Jek started off by sending his ship into a vertical ascent. He then sent his ship into a barrel roll and began a nose dive, spinning the entire time.

He shot past us, heading back towards the surface of Irk. The rest of us watched, wondering what he was doing.

Jek continued his dive all the way through the atmosphere, flames surrounding his ship.

As he cleared the atmosphere, we were barely able to see as the air parted around his ship. He was attempting to break the sound barrier!

"Pff, show off," Kiu said, although he didn't sound serious.

"WEEEE OOOOOH!" Jek cried. Moments later, he broke the sound barrier, and we were able to hear the sonic boom from his microphone.

"I can do that!" Kiu said, angling his ship downward.

"Ah, nothing like some competition," Huji said, amused. He sent his cruiser into a dive as well.

"Wait for me!" I said excitedly.

~!#$%^&

That was pretty much how we spent our afternoon, messing around and trying to best each other.

"I still think I did the best," Kiu said after we landed. As expected, Jek and Kiu were arguing about who had done the coolest tricks. Huji and I were just trying to keep out of it.

"You keep telling yourself that," Jek said with a grin. "But don't forget that you weren't the one to graduate at the top of our class."

Kiu scowled. "Well, you're not the most impressive Irken here." He jerked his thumb at me. "Don't forget about Miss Invader over there."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't want any part of this argument, thanks."

"What's the matter?" Kiu asked, a smirk over taking his scowl. "Aren't you any good at arguing?"

"No, she's just too polite to kick your butt," Jek said.

I felt my cheeks heat up slightly.

"Now look at what you've done!" Kiu said, laughing at my face. "You've embarrassed her!"

"He has not!" I protested.

Huji shook his head, no doubt wondering why he was friends with the likes of us.

"Whatever you say, Kota," Kiu said, still grinning.

An awkward silence followed.

"Well, the silence is nice for a change," Huji said.

Cue awkward giggling.

"Kiu, you sure know how to make situations awkward," Jek said, giving his friend a light punch on the shoulder.

Kiu shrugged, faking humility. "I try."

"Well, there's no reason to keep standing around here," I said, trying to make sure the awkwardness did not return. "Shall we head back to our houses?"

"I suppose we shall," Kiu said, spinning on his heel.

Huji followed silently, probably deep in thought. Jek and I started walking at the same time.

"I didn't actually embarrass you, did I?" Jek asked.

"Of course not!" I said, waving my hand. "I appreciate that you were sticking up for me."

"Aw, no problem," Jek said.

We walked in a comfortable silence, a little ways behind Kiu and Huji.

"You know, I actually think you flew the best today."

More blushing. Why? Friends gave friends compliments, right?

"Thanks," I said quietly. "And just for the record, I think you flew better than Kiu."

"I KNEW YOU HAD A FAVORITE!" Kiu shouted, pointing at me. "I KNEW IT! Huji, pay up."

Huji was not amused. (-_-) But surprisingly, he reached into his pocket and handed several coins to Kiu.

Jek and I watched this short exchange in silent amazement. (O_O)

"Now if you two love birds would hurry up…"

"WHAT?" Jek and I both shouted at the same time.

Kiu snickered. "You know it's true. Now c'mon, I'm hungry."

~!#$%^&*

A/N: And that's where I leave you… for now. Sorry, I would have updated sooner but my internet hasn't been working. I'll try to update my other stories later tonight or tomorrow! Expect all updates to be on the weekend from now on.


	13. Free at Last

A/N: Two awesome words… PORTAL 2.

Why?

Amazing storyline, I gained lots of inspiration!

Amazing game! It's soooo addicting.

Ok, I'm done praising now.

!#$%^

_I'm sure there's a song out there,_

_That fits this chapter._

_But I'm too lazy to go and look for it._

_So just read, ok?_

_~Kota_

Kota's POV

"Attention, pilots, everyone to their ships immediately! We are under attack from the Meekrob!"

Kiu, Huji, Jek and I had been eating breakfast, but as soon as the order came over the intercom, we jumped up and headed for our ships.

"Finally!" Kiu said excitedly. "Some actual action!"

"Just don't get too cocky!" Jek said as he took off into space.

"He is right, Kiu, be careful," Huji said in his usual wise tone.

"Don't be such a kill joy, Huji!" I exclaimed. "The Meekrob aren't that difficult to fight!"

"I was simply reminding the two of you that we are not, as you seem to think, immortal."

"Guys, just get up here already! This place is swarming with Meekrob!"

"Coming, almighty leader!" Kiu snickered.

"I'm going to smack you after the battle," Jek said, sounding un-amused.

The three of us just laughed.

"Uh oh, incoming!" Kiu shouted. Lasers started firing all around us as soon as we cleared the atmosphere.

"Let's get this party started!" I shouted.

I began firing upon the Meekrob ships, taking down several of them fairly quickly. As you can imagine, it wasn't easy for beings of pure energy to pilot ships.

"Why do they even bother attacking us?" Kiu asked. "I mean, they're terrible at piloting!"

"Because they are getting desperate," Huji said simply. "They know we are after their planet, and they are trying to stop us," Huji said.

"Well, I guess that makes sense…" Kiu said reluctantly. He hated agreeing with Huji.

"Wow, we're almost done already!" I exclaimed as I looked around. There were only a couple more enemy ships. "I got this one!" I locked onto what seemed to be one of the few remaining ships.

"Kota, look out!" Jrek cried.

Before I even realized what was happening, three Meekrob ships flew out at me from behind an asteroid, lasers firing at full power.

I gasped in complete shock. I didn't know what to do!

"Shit! She completely locked up!" Kiu yelled.

"I'm coming!" Jek shouted.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't snap out of it. And it wasn't because of fear, like the others thought. My short burst of fear had somehow caused my PAK to malfunction, and now I was stuck halfway between being controlled by it and being free from it. My thoughts were all muddled and I wasn't even sure of what was going on.

Jek shot past, taking out all three ships as he went.

But even my rescue barely registered. The only thing I knew for sure is that I was in deep, deep trouble. My PAK was shutting down, therefore it was shutting me down. And it is impossible to pilot a ship when you're unconscious.

"Kota! Kota, can you hear me?"

I could, but I couldn't answer. My eyelids fluttered.

"Jek, you've gotta do something man! Her ship's getting out of control!"

My ship was indeed getting out of control. It was starting to spiral downwards as I fell forward onto the controls. My eyes closed and I lost consciousness completely.

~!#$%

My eyes snapped open.

The first thing I noticed was a strange sense of freedom, and unlike the other times I had had the feeling, it wasn't going away.

The second thing I noticed is that I was in the infirmary, which I was able to identify because of all of the whiteness in the room and the smell of cleaning products.

How was I still alive?

I sat up after realizing that I was lying on a bed. Unfortunately, sitting up caused immense pain in my head and I laid right back down.

A robotic voice came through the intercom.

"Good, you're awake. Your PAK had a serious malfunction."

"Yeah, I think I was able to figure that out all on my own, thanks."

"If you are feeling better, you have a visitor."

"Sure, let them in, why not."

A few moments later the door opened and Jek walked in.

Truthfully, I had expected all three of my friends to come and visit, not just Jek.

"Thank goodness you're ok!" Jek said, sounding relieved.

I felt my cheeks heat up. "Yeah… I'm fine. But… what happened, exactly?"

"The doctors aren't sure," Jek admitted. "All they know is that your PAK malfunctioned and that caused you to shut down."

"So… how come I'm not dead?" I asked.

"Oh… I uh… I rescued you," Jek said a little awkwardly.

"Well… thanks," I murmured.

There was a brief awkward silence. Awkward silences seemed to be happening between us a lot lately.

"Well… I guess I'll let you rest then," Jek said, turning to leave the room.

"Ok… Uh… see ya later, I guess," I said.

Jek cast me a small smile before leaving the room.

After the door was closed, I tried to clear my mind so I could get some rest. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. My PAK was no longer controlling me, and my thoughts were very confused. Feelings I hadn't even known existed filled me. And I was now feeling disgusted with myself for all of my unnecessary killing. I had become the very monster I had sworn not to become as a smeet.

But I was in too deep to turn back now. Turning back now would almost certainly mean my certain death.

What was I going to do?

~!#$%^

A/N: Ngh, I couldn't think of a better way to end this chapter. Plus, I still have to update my Harry Potter crossover. And I'd like to start my Portal story… But who knows if that'll happen before the weekend is over… I have quite a bit of homework to do.


	14. Finally Together

A/N: I have a three day weekend, and hardly any homework! You know what that means? It means more updating! :D

~!#$

_My heart's a stereo,_

_It beats for you so listen close,_

_Hear my thoughts in every note,_

_Oh oh._

_Gymclassheroes: Stereo Hearts_

Jek's POV

I walked along the many sidewalks, kicking the occasional stone out of the way. My thoughts and emotions whirled around in my head. My squidilyspooch was in turmoil and I had absolutely no idea why. I didn't even notice that Kiu and Huji until I had practically run into them.

"Whoa! Look out, chief!" Kiu exclaimed.

I looked up, startled. "Oh, sorry, guys. Didn't see you there."

"How did you not see us?" Kiu asked, looking incredibly confused.

"I have to agree with Kiu on that," Huji said, concerned. "Why did you not notice us?"

I considered before answering. I had been getting increasingly more distracted lately, and I wasn't entirely sure why. How _had_ I missed seeing my friends? That wasn't like me all. "I'm not really sure…"

Kiu gave Huji a sly look. "I bet I know why!" he exclaimed. "You looooooove Kota!"

I felt my cheeks heat up at the very mention of her name. "I…"

Kiu grinned at my embarrassment and the fact that I wasn't even able to deny his accusation. Huji looked back and forth between us, a look of disbelief on his face. My embarrassment grew.

"I knew it!" Kiu cried, jumping up and down. But he stopped suddenly, antennae wilting. "This is bad… very, VERY bad. Do you have any idea what would happen if someone besides us found out about this?"

My eyes widened in sudden realization of the gravity of the situation.

Huji stepped in, finally coming up with something to say; which was of course, a warning. "No one must ever know. You would almost certainly be deactivated."

I nodded silently. Now I was faced with two options. Either crush this new found feeling I had, or do everything within the realm of possibility to keep this a secret. I barely had to think before I chose my course of action.

~!#$%

Kota's POV

I only had to spend the night in the infirmary, as we Irkens heal incredibly fast. Thank goodness for that! Now all that was left was what I would wind up doing. I had ruled out the possibility of leaving, as that would arouse suspicion. But I didn't want to continue being a cold blooded murderer either… Unfortunately, I didn't seem to have any other options. Plus, there was another reason I wanted to stay…

And it just so happened that the reason was standing outside the infirmary when I walked out.

Jek smiled warmly at me. "I had a feeling you'd be leaving soon. I hope that doesn't sound creepy or anything…"

I felt myself blush. "Not at all… In fact, I thought it was kinda… sweet."

Now it was Jek's turn to blush. He looked down at the ground for a moment before meeting my gaze. As our eyes met, I finally realized exactly what I had been feeling for the past several weeks. A feeling so beautiful and dangerous, it made my breath catch.

Love.

A part of me was freaking out, because if I knew one thing, it was this. IRKENS DON'T LOVE. IT IS FORBIDDEN.

And those Irkens who broke the rules were deactivated without another thought. I didn't want that to be me. But at the same time… it seemed like an entire new opportunity had opened up before me. An entire new world even.*

Our eyes remained in contact the entire time I thought. Finally, Jek broke the slightly awkward silence.

"Uh… Kota?"

"Yes?"

He paused, probably considering his word choice. "Would you… Do you…" Jek continued to fumble for the right words to ask me who knows what. Finally, he took a deep breath and got his question out. "Would you like to join me for a night flight tonight?"

I realized that he was essentially asking me out on a date. I also knew that my answer would probably change my life forever. So, gathering all of my courage up I answered…

"I'd love to."

~!#$%

I walked back to my house**, feeling nervous and absolutely amazing at the same time. Our plans were set. I could always turn back, but I didn't want to. I opened the door to my house and was almost immediately plowed over by Iris.

"You're alright!" Iris said happily. "I was so scared!"

I smiled, allowing some of my inner happiness to show through. "Yes, I'm fine, Iris." I scooped my SIR unit into a hug before setting her back down. "Now, would you like to play a quick game?" I asked. After all, I needed something to keep my mind busy for the next couple of hours.

"Yeah!" Iris shrieked. "What kinda game?"

"How about tag?" I asked. That would help me rid myself of all the excess energy I had…

"Ok! Tag, you're it!" Iris tagged me and ran off at top speed into the backyard.

"I'm gonna get you!" I yelled, taking off after her.

We ran back and forth until I couldn't force myself to take another step. "Ok, Iris, you win!"

"Yay!" Iris exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Now let's play something else!"

"Sorry, bud, I need to get ready for a little outing."

"OOOOOHHHHH, where ya goin?" she asked, sitting down in front of me.

"Just on a little night flight," I said, trying to dismiss it as nothing unusual. Thankfully, Iris was a SIR unit and didn't suspect anything.

"That sounds like fun!" she said happily. "Now I'm gonna go do some stuffs… like… watching TV!" Iris declared, toddling off.

I shook my head, wishing for a moment that I could live simply like a SIR. But I was Irken, and not just any Irken. I was defective, which made my life a whole lot more difficult. So, gathering my breath again, I walked into my bedroom to get ready for my date.

~!#$%^

*Cue Aladin references… A WHOLE NEW WORLD…

**When I think about this Irken armada base, I think of the Air Force Acadamy. (I live close by, but I refuse to tell you how close.) They have housing there for people that work there and for the pilots. So I decided that the Irken armada might have something similar.

The plot thickens! DUN DUN DUNNNNNN. I'll probably update once more this weekend, as the next chapter I've been preparing for for a while now.


	15. Desperation

A/N: Oh gosh guys, I'm so sorry about hardly updating. My laptop died and I'm being forced to use an older version of Microsoft word until I get a new laptop. You won't believe how hard it is for me to switch from a new version to an ancient version… I can't even play any of my games… Oh well, here's a chapter for you!

~!#$%

_No one will ever see  
>This side reflected<br>And if there's something wrong  
>Who would have guessed it<br>And I have left alone  
>Everything that I own<br>Three Days Grace: Never too Late_

Kota's POV

What was I doing? Why had I agreed to this? I was going to get myself in a load of trouble.

But how could I have said no? I couldn't. Not when I was looking into Jek's beautiful blue eyes.

"_IRKENS DO NOT LOVE! STOP NOW WHILE YOU CAN!"_

I ignored my PAK. If Irkens didn't love, then why was I waiting for my date? Irkens were meant to love, just like every other creature in the universe. The Almighty Tallest and the Control Brains could screw off.

A few moments later, Jek landed his Voot and hopped out. He walked over, eyes glowing.

Jek had taken off his pilot uniform and was in the standard Irken uniform, except his was blue to match his eyes.

I took a deep breath, hardly believing that I was actually going through with this.

As Jek reached me he pulled me into a hug. I automatically hugged him back, instinct beginning to take over.

I felt a grin form on my lips, and a giddy feeling crept inside my squidlyspooch. My brain seemed to lose all knowledge of anything that wasn't happening at that very moment.

We pulled apart, both looking at the ground a little awkwardly. This was strange for both of us.

Jek cleared his throat and gestured to his ship. "Shall we?"

I nodded, still smiling. He held out his hand and I took it. We walked hand in hand to his ship and he helped me in, even though he knew I was perfectly capable of climbing in myself.

He jumped in after me, closed the windshield and started the cruiser up.

As the cruiser lifted higher and higher off of the ground, I felt my excitement grow. Most Irkens would never know this feeling.

Finally, we were high enough off the ground to take off. We soared through the stars in a comfortable silence, just taking in the view. But eventually, the comfortableness of the silence wore off and it became a little awkward.

"So…" I murmured.

Jek cracked a smile. "So."

"I don't believe we're actually, you know, doing this," I said quietly.

Jek's smile never faltered. "Yeah, I never would have thought, even in my wildest dreams, I'd ever find myself in this position."

We remained silent for a little longer, but it wasn't quite as awkward. I had many thoughts spinning around in my head, and some of them were becoming incredibly overwhelming. The biggest one was that I now realized that I was defective.

Being a defective Irken is not a good thing, at all.

I must have frowned or something, because Jek cast me a worried glance. "Everything alright?"

"Wha? Oh, yeah, I'm fine…"

"You don't look like you're fine. Is something bothering you?"

I hesitated. I had no reason to be worried, defects were able to blend in perfectly fine with the rest of society, even though they were different. Why was this bothering me so badly?

"Nothing's bothering me so badly that it'll get in the way," I said dismissively.

"Well, if you say so…" Jek didn't look at all convinced.

I took a risk by giving him a quick peck on the cheek. He blushed immediately. "I'm fine," I insisted.

~!#$

Sneaking out with Jek became a regular thing after that first night. But fretting about my well being also became a habit. Soon I was becoming overtaken by stress and worry, and my friends noticed.

"Kota, are you sure your feeling well? You look, dare I say it, sick," Kiu commented one day.

For a moment, I was tempted to shout out an accusation like Zim. To scream, "FOOLS! IRKENS DO NOT GET SICK!" But of course, I was better than that and simply shook my head. But now my mind was on a different train of thought. I hadn't heard or seen anything of Zim in ages. Scratch that, I hadn't seen or heard from ANY of my other friends in ages. Normally, this wouldn't bother Irkens, but seeing as I was a defect, it bothered me. Great. Now I was thinking about the fact that I was a defect again.

"Irk to Kota!" Kiu exclaimed, waving his hand in front of my face. "Are you listening to us? Maybe you should go home and rest or something…"

"I'M FINE!" I shouted, a little louder than I had intended to. Now everyone in the room was staring at me in confusion.

Damn it.

I got up out of my chair and ran toward the door, frustrated and on the verge of tears. I shoved my way through several crowds and burst into the cool night, running as hard and fast as I could. I knew just one thing, I had to get away. I had to get away from everything. I'd be found out if I stayed, but then again, if I left I might be found out as well…. What was I going to do?

_Keep running._

So I did. I just kept running and running and running. Never stopping, never slowing down. If I stopped, reality would come crashing back down on me.

By the time I did finally slow down, I had made it to the airfield. An idea struck me. I could leave, right now, just escape from the nightmare my life had become. I switched on my communicator.

"Iris, get down to the airfield as soon as possible and bring whatever you can."

"Uh… Yes, mistress, right away."

"Kota!" I spun to see Jek, running from the very direction I had come.

"Jek? What…"

"What happened?" he demanded. He came up and grabbed my shoulders firmly but gently. "Please, tell me what's wrong!"

I backed away, squeezing my eyes shut. I had to leave, even if the rest of me wanted to just stay here with Jek and the others. I HAD to…

"Please, tell me what's wrong, I'll help you…"

I shook my head, backing away even further. "I… I just need some time to myself… I'm sorry…" Iris came roaring up at that moment, carrying several large bags filled with things. At any other time, it would have been cute, maybe even funny. But right now, my heart was being ripped in two. I could stay here with Jek and be under constant stress and worry, or I could leave, take some time off… I cast a glance at Jek. He seemed totally at a loss for words.

Option number one was looking really good right now. All it would take is for me to throw myself in his arms…

I squeezed my eyes shut and spun towards my ship.

"Kota, wait! Please!"

"Mistress?"

"Come Iris!" I managed to call. I jumped into the cockpit and started the ship up just as Iris flew in. Jek was running toward me, still calling my name. But it was too late now. I was leaving, and I honestly didn't know if I'd be back.

~!#$%^&

A/N: Once again guys, I'm really sorry for the wait. I'll do my best to update my other stories at some point this weekend. It'll be much easier once I get my new laptop. ^^


	16. The Water Planet

A/N: I dedicate this chapter to my friend Bina, who has not left me alone until I wrote this. Then again, there are many things I consistently bother her about, so we're even. :P Now that this is up… I DEMAND MY COMIC, DAMN IT.

Love you, Bina! ^^

~!#$%^&

_Broadway is dark tonight,_

_A little bit weaker than you used to be._

_Broadway is dark tonight,_

_See the young man sitting in the old man's bar,_

_Waiting for his turn to die._

_Goo Goo Dolls: Broadway_

Kota's POV

I wiped tears from my eyes as I left Irk. Iris sat silently beside me, looking up at me worriedly. I chose not to talk to her, I was afraid that I'd break down right there. I needed to be strong, at least until I found a planet far enough away from Irk that I felt like I'd be safe.

I used the ship's computers to search for planets. Finally, I pulled one up that I felt would work. The planet Gush. It was a planet covered 99% with water. No sane Irken would go there voluntarily. So, that seemed like a reasonable place to hide. I'd probably be miserable, but I felt like I deserved it. I was a defect, and I had just abandoned my friends. I felt lower than dirt.

"Computer, set a course for Gush," I ordered. The computer beeped in response and soon we were headed toward the planet made up of 99% water. Oh joy.

"Mistress, where are we goin?" Iris asked.

"A new planet," I said simply.

"Why'd you leave your friends?"

I didn't want to answer. But Iris was my closest companion. She deserved to know.

"I need to take a break," I murmured.

"A break?" Iris asked.

"Yeah, I just need to rest."

"Okie dokie," Iris said, settling back into her seat. "I'll help you rest!"

I managed a small smile. "Thanks, buddy."

~!#$%

Some long amount of time later (I couldn't be sure, not that I really cared) we landed on a tiny patch of land on the water planet. And by tiny, I mean that you could easily see that you were surrounded by water on all sides. We hopped out of the ship and I examined my surroundings. Maybe this wasn't the best place to stay…

Iris screeched.

I spun around, only to come face to face with another Irken. She was on the tall side, and she had several piercings. She also happened to have a laser gun pointed straight at my face and a finger ready on the trigger. I held completely still, not wanting to provoke her. I flicked my eyes down to see that Iris was being held down by another SIR unit, this one a model from Operation Impending Doom 2.

"Who are you?" demanded the Irken. "What do you want?"

"I… I'm Kota," I stuttered. "I'm just visiting, I mean you no harm or anything…"

The other Irken gave me a "seriously?" look. She lowered her gun and called her SIR unit off. Iris jumped up and hid behind my leg.

"Sorry, if I scared you," the Irken said, inspecting her weapon. "You just surprised me. I haven't found any life on land so far, so I wasn't expecting to encounter anyone today."

"Oh, well that's ok," I said. "Uh, may I ask your name?"

"Bina," the Irken said, holding her hand out for me to shake. "Cairo's my SIR."

"This is Iris," I said, bending down and scooping the terrified SIR up. "So… are you an invader?"

Bina nodded. "I guess you were one at some point as well, considering you have a SIR."

"Yep," I nodded. "But I didn't really feel like joining Operation Impending Doom 2."

"Good thing you didn't, some of us are doubled up, two to a planet," Bina said. "As a matter of fact, I believe that my assistant is around here somewhere…"

"There's two of you?" I asked.

"Mhmm," Bina said, switching on her communicator. Soon a voice came through.

"What's up?" a distinctly female voice said.

"Get down here, we have a visitor," Bina said.

"OOOH, A VISITOR," the Irken on the communicator said excitedly. "I'll be right there!"

Bina switched off her communicator and tapped her foot impatiently on the sandy ground. A few moments later, another Voot Cruiser landed and an Irken dressed in an orange outfit hopped out. A red eyed SIR unit from Operation Impending Doom 1 was right behind her. As a matter of fact, she did look a little familiar. I'm sure I saw her around before we were assigned to our planets.

"Chey, this is Kota," Bina said. "Kota, this is Chey, my assistant. She's helping me take over this filthy planet."

"Hiya!" Chey exclaimed, coming forward and shaking my hand enthusiastically. "Nice to meet ya! Oh! This is Zelda, my SIR. Say hi, Zelda!"

"HI!" Zelda shrieked. "What's your name?" she asked Iris.

"Iris," Iris responded. She was warming up to Zelda a lot faster than she was to Cairo.

"It's great to see another Irken," Chey went on. "The only other creatures we've seen have tried to kill us, and I don't like that too much."

"Ugh…" Bina face-palmed. "Here she goes again."

"You know, it's bad enough being on a planet made almost entirely of water, but it doesn't help that everything here is trying to kill us. The Tallest gave us a really hard planet, don't you think, Bina?"

"Mhmm," Bina said, not really paying attention. Obviously, Chey went on long rants like that all the time and Bina had learned to tune them out.

"So, how long are you gonna stay here?" Chey asked, blinking her purple eyes several times.

"Well, I'm not sure," I began.

"Please, don't leave!" Bina exclaimed! "I swear, we're not crazy or anything." She walked up closer and whispered, "Plus, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to stay on this planet with Chey as my only company… Not that she's a bad person or anything… it's just that…"

"I got ya," I said, smiling a little bit.

"Good, so you understand," Bina said, stepping back.

"I suppose I could stay for a little while," I said.

"Great!" Chey exclaimed. "C'mon, we'll show you our base."

"Alright," I said, hopping back into my ship. Bina pressed a button on her communicator and her ship appeared, as it had been invisible before.

"Ready to follow?" Chey asked.

"Yep! Let's go!"

~!#$%^&*(

A/N: This has got to be my favorite chapter so far. Why? For one, it was really easy to write, considering that Bina and Chey are two people I interact with all the time in real life. (Bina is one of my bestest friends and Chey is my cousin x3) Secondly, the mental images I put into my head were freakin hilarious. BINA AND CHEYENNE, (assuming you actually read my author's note) COMMENT NOW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. Okie Doke? :D

Love you guys!


	17. A Healthy Dose of Insanity

A/N: Time for more insaneness. Yes, readers, it CAN get more insane then it already is. I also posted a poll on my page, GO VOTE NOW!

~!#$%

_When you're happy like a fool,_

_Let it take you over,_

_When everything is out,_

_You gotta take it in._

_OneRepublic: Good Life_

3rd Person

I followed the two female Irkens to their base, wondering just what I was going to do from here on out. I could stay with them, but that would mean risking the chance that the Tallest would find me. Then again, why would I turn down an offer to stay with other Irkens?

I wouldn't.

So I thought I had my mind made up when we reached a large, low building that blended in well with the blue tinted sand of Gush. I had no doubts that the base extended down into the ground, at least as far as the water would allow. There were several windows, at least two on each side of the house. A satellite dish protruded from the side of the house and a telescope jutted out from an opening in the roof.

As we neared the base, a hatch on the roof began to open, revealing a hangar inside. Bina landed first, with Chey and I right behind. After we landed and hopped out of our ships, the duo began to give me a tour.

"Zelda, why don't you go monitor the cameras?" Chey asked her SIR.

"Okie dokie lokie!" Zelda responded. The little robot began to toddle out of the room, but before she reached her destination, she stopped suddenly. "Recalculating," she chirped, eyes blinking.

"No, Zelda, no!" Chey groaned.

Zelda began ramming herself into a wall over and over and over again, saying "recalculating" the entire time. I forced myself not to start laughing, especially when Bina shook her head sadly.

"Cairo, how about _you_ go and watch the camera feeds?" Bina suggested. "And while you're at it, take the insane SIR unit with you."

"Yes, mistress!" Cairo exclaimed, saluting. He then walked over to Zelda, grabbed the red eyed SIR unit by the leg and proceeded to drag her out of the room. Zelda whooped and yelled happily the whole way.

"Chey, Zelda is insane, you realize that, right?" Bina asked.

Chey nodded happily. "Insane is fun. Now, let's give our guest a tour, shall we?"

"We shall!" Bina exclaimed, motioning for us to follow. We walked in the direction opposite the two SIR units had gone, and soon we had reached the sleeping area of the base. There were two beds, one made up with orange sheets, the other made up with black sheets. It wasn't hard to guess which bed belonged to which Irken. But the odd thing about the room was the fact that there were posters and pictures hung all over the walls. It wasn't something you saw often.

Chey's half of the room had various posters of fuzzy creatures and of some famous Irkens. There were also hand drawn pictures of various things, some of which were obviously of Zelda. On Bina's side of the room, there were video game posters and TONS of drawings. They depicted all kinds of creatures, many of them made up. Just by looking at the paper on the walls I was able to deduce a lot about these two Irkens who very well may become my friends.

"So, this is where we spend any free time we have," Bina said, gesturing around the room. "Which we happen to have a lot of, considering we're not entirely sure how to take this planet over."

Chey nodded. "Yeah, and we like to draw, if you couldn't tell."

"They're nice pictures," I offered, unsure of what to say.

"Moving on," Chey said, leading the way now. She lead us into an elevator and we headed down to the first floor. There was a typical living room, a kitchen and a restroom. Not anything out of the ordinary. We went down another elevator, and this time we emerged into a maze of corridors and halls. The duo guided me through, showing me the labs and equipment rooms. We finally reached the camera/monitoring room where we once again met up with Cairo and Zelda. Cairo was dutifully watching the video feeds while Zelda fooled around with some sort of shell.

"So, that's our base," Bina said, shrugging. "Now, would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself?"

"I love stories!" Chey exclaimed.

I had REALLY hoped that they wouldn't ask about me. But I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later…

"Well, I, uh, was a pilot," I began. To make matters worse, Chey had sat down on the floor, watching me intently. Zelda had also stopped messing with her shell and was looking at me. I took a deep breath and plowed on.

"I… decided that I needed to take a break for a little while," I said, trying to not give too much away. "And I wound up here. Not much to explain after that."

"Aww, that was a short story!" Zelda said sadly.

"Well, if you say so," Chey said, standing back up. "But if you have anything else to tell us, don't hesitate, kay?"

I nodded. "Sure thing." _No way._

"Hi, Iris!" Zelda exclaimed suddenly, as if she had just noticed my SIR. "Wanna come and PLAY with me?"

Iris giggled. "Ok!"

"Cairo, let's go play!" Zelda screeched.

Cairo gave Zelda a look that screamed "oh hell no." Of course, Zelda ignored it and began tugging on Cairo's arm. The three of us giggled for a second before Bina finally put an end to the nonsense.

"Cairo, just go play with them already."

Cairo didn't look happy but obeyed anyway. The three SIRs left, Iris and Zelda happily talking the entire way.

"It'll be good for Zelda to have another silly SIR to keep her occupied," Chey commented.

"But not so good for Cairo," Bina pointed out.

My squidilyspooch growled.

"Oh geez, was that you?" Bina asked.

"I guess I'm hungrier than I thought," I said, laughing.

"C'mon, Kota!" Chey exclaimed, grabbing my hand. "We'll get you something to eat."

~!#$%

A/N: My cousin came to my house for a few minutes yesterday so I was able to get a healthy dose of her insanity before she went home. Her final word before departing was "Sakana," which means fish in Japanese. )^3^(


	18. Defects for Life

A/N: Sorry I didn't update the other day… I was too busy… DOIN' STUFF. :P Now here's a new chapter for you to read whilst you gorge on candy :3

~!#$%

_So raise your glass if you are wrong,_

_In all the right ways, all my underdogs._

_We will never be, never be anything but loud,_

_And nitty gritty, dirty little freaks._

_Pink: Raise Your Glass_

Chey's POV 

There was definitely something off with Kota. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it was there. She wasn't telling us something, not giving us the entire truth. But that was ok, for now, at least, considering we had just met. I only hoped that with time she would learn to trust us, because honestly, we were keeping secrets too.

Kota's POV

I was lying on a couch in Bina and Chey's living room, staring up at the ceiling. Said Irkens were sleeping, and I was trying desperately to sleep, but it just wasn't happening. I had WAY too much on my mind. I closed my eyes, hoping that I'd be able to drift off. Just when I thought the colors on the inside of my eyelids were hypnotizing me into sleep, more troubling thoughts popped into my noggin.

"Ugh!"

"Mistress?"

I opened my eyes to see Iris looking worriedly at me, lilac eyes illuminating the otherwise dark room. She seemed to look at me worriedly a lot now a days.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

I sighed, wishing for once that my little companion would stop worrying about me so much. "I'm fine," I lied. "I'm just having a hard time falling asleep."

Iris frowned. "You don't sleep very well," she remarked.

She was right, I didn't.

"There's not much I can do about that," I sighed. "I just can't seem to clear my mind."

"Can I help?" she asked.

"No, there isn't really anything you can do either," I said.

"Maybe we can help?"

I sat up and managed to see Bina and Chey standing at the entrance to the living room. Without warning, Bina reached out and turned on the light, momentarily blinding all of us.

"Ow!" I hissed. "Maybe you could give me a little warning next time?"

"Sorry,"Bina said, blinking rapidly. "I didn't really think that through. But anyway… we were just wondering if you wanted to do something, you know, to take your mind off whatever it is you're thinking about."

I gave them a strange look. I had just met them… yet they were being really nice to me for no reason. That wasn't exactly a common thing for Irkens to do. Suspicions began to arise, mostly surrounding the fact that they might be defective as well.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked.

"You know, a game or something," Chey said. "Or we could go outside and chase each other, play a hiding game…" She went on to list a bunch of various activities, most of which made no sense what so ever. Both Bina and I were looking at her curiously.

"What?" she asked when she saw the looks we were giving her.

"Oh, nothing," Bina said, smiling. "So, any of those activities sound good to you, Kota?"

I shrugged. "You know, I'm just really tired and I'd like to get some sleep…"

"But you can't!" Chey said. "We've been listening to you toss and turn for quite a long time now…"

"…And we can't help but wonder what on Irk is bothering you so much that you can't sleep," Bina finished.

An awkward silence engulfed the room as I pondered what to do next. Tell them and risk word getting out to the Tallest, or not tell them and eventually lose their trust? I didn't like either option very much. Ugh, making tough choices suck. But you know, I think I'd rather risk being found out. Besides, Bina and Chey seemed really nice, and I had more than enough clues that led towards the possibility that they were defective too.

"You really want to know?" I asked hesistantly.

They nodded.

"Well, I suppose it all started the day I was woken…"

~!#$%^&

Nearly an hour later, I had finished my tale. Bina and Chey had listened with their full attention the entire time, had cried when I cried, laughed when I laughed and otherwise remained silent. Now, I waited for whatever was to come next.

"Wow…" Chey whispered. "You've been through a lot…"

"No kidding," Bina said, looking a little upset. "I don't believe you were brave enough to tell us all of that."

I gave a weak smile. "I'm surprised I told you guys, too. I was so scared… But I feel better now."

"Well, since you were brave enough to tell us all that, I think we can afford to tell you some things as well," Chey said. "Thankfully, we can't be nearly as scared because you're a lot like us. You see, Bina and I are defects, too. Although, I guess it's kinda obvious when you watch us and see the things we like to do. No ordinary Irkens do the stuff we do."

I smiled. "Yeah, I admit I had a feeling. I think the scariest thing about being a defect is the fact that if you're found out, you're a dead Irken walking. We've got to be careful."

Bina gave a small laugh. "What are you talking about? Yeah, defects need to be careful, but not as careful as you're being! Kota, I don't want to sound mean but you're blowing this way out proportion."

I gave her a confused look, due to my confusion. "What on Irk do you mean?

"What she means is," Chey picked up, "It's not as if the Tallest are always on the lookout for defects. As long as their little minions are doing what they want them to do, they'll leave you alone. They don't care as long as you're not doing any damage to the empire."

I considered this, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. But it didn't make me feel much better. My actions and sudden departure were sure to be noticed. Even I wasn't worried about being discovered before, I had to be now because of how quickly I had left. I might as well be in exile.

"Great, so I pretty much screwed up my career for no reason," I mumbled.

Bina smiled. "Yeah, pretty much." She came and sat next to me on the couch. "But you're more than welcome to hang with us as long as you need to. "We won't let anyone know you're here, isn't that right, Chey?"

"Of course!" Chey said, sitting down on the other side of me. "Stay as long as you want. Us defects have to stick together."

I smiled a genuine smile. "Thanks, guys. I appreciate it."

"Hey, no problem," Bina said, standing. "Now I think it's time we all got some sleep. What do you guys think?"

"I agree," I said, yawning. "G'night."

"G'night, Kota. Sweet dreams."

~!#$%^&

A/N: D'awww, a nice, mushy chapter. I got to see my cousin yesterday, so I had plenty of material to use. On another note, this story is quickly approaching its end! *trumpet fanfare* Only a couple more chapters and the prologue will be complete. I'll try to update one of my minor stories tomorrow guys! Now, TIME TO READ HOMESTUCK!


	19. Welcome Back

A/N: …I think I'll just update my stories whenever I have time, so don't really expect anything at any given time x3 Also… I have officially become a Homestuck fan. It's a truly epic web comic.

~!#$%^

_In another life,_

_I would be your girl._

_We'd keep all our promises,_

_Be us against the world._

_In another life,_

_I would make you stay,_

_So I don't have to say you were the one who got away,_

_The one who got away._

_Katy Perry: The One Who Got Away_

~!#$%^&

Kota's POV

My everyday life got strangely relaxing for the next two years. Chey and Bina became two of my closest friends, and Iris had a bazillion different adventures with Cairo and Zelda. But I eventually realized that I couldn't stay there forever, it wasn't my place. So I decided to go back, back to being a pilot.

The goodbyes were bittersweet, I knew I'd miss my new friends like crazy and that they'd miss me, but I also knew that it was for the best. I only hoped that if I went crawling back to the Tallest that they'd forgive me and assume that I thought I was doing something very important for the empire. But the thing I was really dreading was facing my old friends again. Scratch that, I was terrified__of facing Jek again. I didn't know if I'd be strong and do what I had to do, or if I'd be weak and give into my desires. I hoped I'd be strong.

And now here I was, waiting to see if I'd be allowed back as a pilot. Awaiting the verdict. Would I be allowed to stay, or would they do something terrible to me? If I was to be deactivated, I felt like I deserved it for everything I had done. Running like I had, that was a cowardly thing to do. I was so ashamed.

"Kota?"

I looked up to see that I was being called back into the meeting room where a large scree resided in front of a small chair. On the screen were the Tallest, talking amongst each other quietly. When I entered they turned to me, their faces giving away none of their thoughts.

"My Tallest?"

"Well, Kota, we've come to the conclusion that you may be a pilot again, if you so wish," Tallest Red stated. I forced myself not to grin in relief. "But if you try any crazy stunt like that again…" he trailed off menacingly.

"Of course, my Tallest, it will never, EVER, happen again," I said quickly.

"We believe you," Red said with a nod. "Now get going."

I stood and saluted. "Thank you, my Tallest!" I then left the room, finally allowing myself a small smile. I made my way out of the big metal building and headed to my Voot Cruiser to park it in the hangar. Before I got there however, someone cleared their throat in an attention getting manner. I turned and saw a face I hadn't seen in two years.

"Kiu?" I asked, the smile on my face widening. Kiu smiled back and held open his arms for a hug. I trotted over and gave my friend a hug, grinning the whole time. I knew that if anyone would understand why I had left, it would be Kiu. He may joke about a lot of things, but he also knew when to be serious.

"It's good to see you again," I said.

"Same goes to you," Kiu said, smirking. "Why'd you go and take off like that?"

My smile faltered and I looked down at the ground. "I kinda lost it," I said sadly. "I'll explain everything later, if you don't mind. I don't feel like explaining everything more than once."

Kiu nodded knowingly. "That's fine. Hey, how about you come to my place after you get everything taken care of? I'll round up Jek and Huji, too. Then you can tell us all about your fascinating tale."

I managed a small smile. "Sure, I need to face Jek eventually anyway. Might as well be sooner rather than later."

"That's the spirit!" Kiu exclaimed with a fist pump. "Now get going, I'll see you in a little while."

~!#$%^&*(

I took a deep breath as I opened the door to Kiu's house. Now was the time to be strong, I had to, I HAD to…

I could hear them in the living room; Kiu's jokes, Huji's researched input and Jek's decisive comments. They sounded so happy, and I couldn't help but wonder whether or not Kiu had actually told them why he had invited them over… I took one last deep breath, held my head high and entered the living room.

The conversation stopped instantly and my suspicions were confirmed. Kiu had not told Huji and Jek that I was back. And here I was hoping that they'd be expecting me…

Jek stood, disbelief in his eyes. I tried to meet his gaze, I really did, but I wound up looking at the floor, tears beginning to blur the edge of my vision. I couldn't do this, I just couldn't. Moments later he had grabbed my hands and I forced myself to look up. Jek's eyes were glassy, as if he too were fighting back tears. I took a shaky breath, determined to say something, but before I could, his lips were on mine and all determination to end things left.

But only for a moment.

We broke apart, and I could easily see the hope in Jek's eyes, the hope that nothing had changed, that my feelings remained the same… Well, I did still feel the same, but everything had changed. I wouldn't be able to do this, not without losing it again, anyway.

"Jek…" I started, feeling Kiu and Huji's eyes on us.

"I missed you," Jek murmured.

Oh good, here came the tears again. "I missed you too. But…"

Jek looked confused. "But?"

I finally let the tears fall. "I… can't do this. I… can't… I can't be with you. I just can't. I'm sorry."

Silence engulfed the room. Jek's eyes grew incredibly sad and he looked at the ground. "I had a feeling you would say that," he murmured. "But I hoped… I really hoped you wouldn't. Guys, if you'll excuse me…"

Jek left without another word, looking absolutely devastated. I felt as if I were being torn in two. "I think I'll head home, too." I whispered. "Sorry, guys, I'll talk to you later." I managed not to dash out the door, but as soon as I was sure that they couldn't see me, I ran. I ran and didn't stop until I had made it back to my house.

~!#$%^&

A/N: Story ends in two chapters, guys. TWO. And then it's only New Universe. And after that… well… I think I'll start Genetic Make-Up after that; give you all some Irken hybrids to read about. :3


	20. The Beginning of the End

A/N: I lied when I said two more chapters… This is the last, guys! It's been quite the ride! I'll miss writing from Kota's POV, but her part of this story is done. Oh! I have four new links on my profile, each one leading to a link of four new characters for a new series… Go check 'em out! ^^

~!#$%^&

_A man who taught me wisdom through the static we recall,_

_And maybe when we're gone our names will echo through the stars,_

_Every start's got it's ending even when we've learned to rise above it all…_

_Hollywood Undead: This Love, This Hate_

~!#$%^&

Kota's POV

Just a month after I returned we received news that we were being deployed to a new galaxy. And by "we," I mean the entire armada.

This galaxy, known as the Milky Way galaxy, had some of the last planets that were not under control of the Tallest. Once we had captured those, well, us Irkens would be the masters of the entire known universe. I didn't like that idea very much. But there wasn't much I could do about it, so I had no choice but to go along with everything. I woke up early the day we were supposed to head out, anxious to get ready to go.

"Mistress, where are we going?" Iris asked as I began packing some basic supplies.

"On a mission," I said, zipping up a duffle bag. "I'll have to shut you off until I need you, ok?"

"Awwww… Ok," Iris mumbled.

I smiled and patted her head. "I promise it won't be too long." Iris didn't seem convinced but offered no argument. I motioned her over and switched her off before carefully placing her into my PAK. I hoisted my duffle bag over my shoulder and headed out, not realizing that I was leaving home for the last time.

The trip to my designated planet, Earth, was uneventful. Even the beginning of the initial attack was fairly boring. I went in thinking that we'd have Earth taken over in no time at all. That's when my ship jerked to the side violently, alarms sounding off. I grew angry and irritated when I saw that the damage to my ship had been done by another Irken. Can you imagine how surprised I was to hear a familiar voice when I contacted the pilot?

Of course you can't, you've never been in that type of situation. Or maybe you have, I don't know. The important thing is that I didn't expect to make it as my ship went careening toward the ground, my old friend's voice still ringing around inside my head.

"_Soldier, stand down, I'm on your side, idiot!"_

"_Oh, I wouldn't be so sure!"_

My ship hit the ground and the world went dark. But of course, most of you know that my story doesn't end here, in fact, it's only the beginning. Well, the beginning of the end, I suppose. Now we've come full circle, and all that's left to do is see what becomes of the others. Even I'm not sure how everything will turn out; we can only hope things will work out all right.

~!#$%^&*(

A/N: Holy shit, that was short, but I do really like how it came out. Short and to the point. One last thing guys, I probably won't be updating until winter break starts, which is in two weeks. I've got finals to study for and work to do, so I don't have much time to write! I MAY be able to write a little more today, but starting Monday I need to buckle down and study. Thanks for sticking with this story, and I hope you all liked it!


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